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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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AND THEIR WAYS. 



BY 



ELLA RODMAN CHURCH, 

Author of " The Wildfords in India," " The Home-Needle," 
" How to Furnish a Home," etc. 

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FULL V ILL USTRA TED, 



PHILADELPHIA 
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUB] 
1334 CHESTNUT STREET 




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COPYRIGHT, 1883, BY 

THE TRUSTEES OF THE 

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 






6$ 



Westcott & Thomson, 
Stereotype rs and Electrotypers, Philada. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Some Little People, and a Little Talk about Rob- 9 
in Redbreasts 

CHAPTER II. 
A Sweet Singer: The Skylark 19 

CHAPTER III. 
A Great Talker: The Magpie . 35 

CHAPTER IV. 
First Cousins: The Jackdaw . * . 1 50 

CHAPTER V, 
First Cousins ( Continued ) : The Raven 59 

CHAPTER VI. 
Some Solemn Birds: The Rook 71 

CHAPTER VII. 
Merry Warblers : The Finch Family 84 



4 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

PAGE 

Home Pets: The Canary-Bird 93 

CHAPTER IX. 
A Dear Little Bird : The Linnet 106 

CHAPTER X. 
Almost a Canary 117 

CHAPTER XI. 
The Bullfinch 127 

CHAPTER XII. 
A Queer Character : The Starling 136 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Queen of Song : The Nightingale 147 

CHAPTER XIV. 
A Bad Name: The Night-Jar 159 

CHAPTER XV. 

A Member of the Scraper Family : The Pheasant. 168 

CHAPTER XVI. 
More of the Scrapers : The Peacock, the Turkey 
and the Quail 178 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Feathered Horses: The Ostrich 198 



CONTENTS. 5 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

PAGE 

Near Relations: The Cassowary and the Emeu . . 215 



CHAPTER XIX. 
Long-Legged Gentry: The Heron 230 

CHAPTER XX. 
Brothers and Sisters: The Crane 240 

CHAPTER XXI. 
A Queer Couple : The Jabiru and the Adjutant . . 248 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Storks and their Ways , 258 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Three more Stalkers : The Ibis, the Snipe and 
the Woodcock 271 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
A Great Deal of Bill: The Toucan 282 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Fishing for a Living : The Pelican, the Cormorant 
and the gannet 29o 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
On Stilts : The Flamingo 309 



6 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

PAGE 

Swans and Geese 317 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
"Quack! Quack!" — Ducks 331 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Storm Signals : The Albatross and the Petrel . . 341 

CHAPTER XXX. 
Wings of Snow : The Gulls 352 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
No Beauty : The Penguin 362 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
Almost Human : The Parrot 367 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
A Screecher: The Cockatoo 385 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
Two Great Naturalists 395 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

The English Robin n 

The Skylark 21 

The American " Meadow- Lark "..... 29 

The English Magpie . . . . 37 

The Raven . . . „ 61 

The Rook ... - 73 

The Chaffinch 85 

The Canary 95 

The Linnet . 107 

The Flax-Plant 109 

The Bullfinch 129 

The Starling 137 

'The Nightingale . . ♦ 149 

The Night-Jar or Goat-Sucker . 161 

The Common Pheasant 169 

The Peacock 179 

The Turkey 183 

The Partridge 193 

The American Quail 195 

The Ostrich , 199 

The Cassowary . . 217 

7 



8 IL L US TEA TIONS. 

PAGE 

The Australian Cassowary or Emeu 219 

Common Heron and Egret, or White Heron . . . . 231 

The Falcon 234 

The Crane 241 

The Jabiru, an Australian Crane 249 

The Adjutant e 255 

Storks on Nest 259 

The Stork 261 

The Sacred Ibis . 273 

Mummy-Cases . . . 275 

The Snipe 277 

The Woodcock 279 

The Toucan ■ . 283 

The Pelican 290 

Pelican and Hawk 295 

The Fishing Cormorant 301 

Gannet or Solan Goose 305 

The Flamingo 311 

The Swan 319 

Wild Goose 321 

Blue-winged Teal ^^ 

The Green-winged Teal 339 

The Common Albatross 343 

Gulls 353 

Penguins 363 

Parrot and Young 371 

Parrot and Monkeys 377 

Leadbeater's Cockatoo 387 



BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 



CHAPTER I. 

SOME LITTLE PEOPLE, AND A LITTLE TALK 
ABOUT ROBIN REDBREASTS. 

THE holidays were over at Elmridge — 
over and done with for that year — 
and lessons had again begun in earnest. 

Miss Harson's little flock were getting 
on famously. Their father declared that 
they improved every day. They learned 
so much, he said, when they were not seem- 
ing to learn — things which came to them in 
such a pleasant way that the children did 
not suspect them of being studies ; and 
this was one reason why Mr. Kyle so 
much liked Miss Harson as a teacher. 

But who was Miss Harson ? And who 
was Mr. Kyle ? And who were " the chil- 
dren " ? 



IO BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

Just some of the nicest people you ever 
saw. They lived in a beautiful country 
home that was called " Elmridge " because 
there were a number of fine elm trees 
around it, and also because it was built 
on a ridge or rising piece of ground. Mr. 
Kyle was a very kind father to his three 
motherless children, but he did not see a 
great deal of them, for he was away nearly 
all day at his business in the city. Miss 
Harson, the young lady whom he had en- 
gaged as their governess, really knew more 
about them than he did. There were Mal- 
colm, Clara and Edith, and their ages were 
ten, eight and six years. They were very 
lovable children, if Malcolm was a little 
mischievous. They seemed to Miss Har- 
son almost like her own little brother and 
sisters. Their schoolroom was a particu- 
larly pleasant one, with a bright fire, crim- 
son curtains and cushioned window-seats. 
They loved to sit there after school-hours 
and have what they called " talks " with 
their teacher, who always contrived to ren- 
der these talks interesting. Generally they 
were about things out of doors — trees and 



THE ENGLISH ROBIN. 



II 




^Sa^* 5 *"*" 



THE ENGLISH ROBIN. 



flowers and animals and birds and stars, 
and many things which some people see all 
their lives and yet know very little about. 



12 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

But Miss Harson taught her pupils to use 
their eyes and ears, and their tongues too, 
to some purpose. Sometimes an imagin- 
ary journey would be proposed, and then 
they all traveled to some foreign country 
to learn about things that lived or grew 
there ; and this the children always enjoyed 
very much. 

" Who would like to take a trip to Eu- 
rope with me this evening ?" asked Miss 
Harson as her three pupils sat looking 
at her in the glow of the winter firelight. 

"What a funny time to go to Europe !" 
laughed Clara, with the dimples deepening 
in her rosy cheeks. " But I know what 
you are going for, Miss Harson. " 

"My trunk is packed," said Malcolm, with 
a satisfied air. 

" Me too !" chimed in little Edith, who 
was not quite sure what it was all about ; 
but if there was anything going on, she 
wanted to be in it. 

The reason for this particular journey 
happened to be that Mr. Kyle had lately 
received from a friend in England a case 
of very handsome stuffed birds, most of 



THE ENGLISH ROBIN. 1 3 

them strangers in this country, and the 
children were very much interested in 
them and anxious to learn all that they 
could of their ways and their habits. Miss 
Harson had kindly promised to give them 
some " talks " on these very birds, and now 
they were to begin. 

" We will go first to England," said Miss 
Harson, "and look up our feathered ac- 
quaintances there ; but before we return, 
we shall probably take a peep into Asia 
and Africa. ,, 

"I want to hear about ostriches," said 
Malcolm. 

" With monkeys on their backs," added 
Edith, who had seen a performance like this 
at the hippodrome and thought that it was 
the way in which monkeys and ostriches 
usually traveled. 

"The poor little monkeys looked so 
frightened !" said Clara, sympathizingly. 
" Do the ostriches run away with them ?" 

Miss Harson was quite amused at this 
idea ; and she explained to the children 
that the monkeys and ostriches they had 
seen were trained for such rides, and that 



14 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

each would much have preferred traveling 
separately. 

" But we are yet a long w r ay off from os- 
triches," she added, " and these long-legged 
gentlemen must wait for their turn. And 
now what English bird shall we take first?" 

"I like the little robin redbreasts that go 
hopping about in winter," said Clara, " and 
so does Edie. Please tell us about them, 
Miss Harson." 

" Yes," was the reply ; " we will take the 
English robin, who is in many ways a very 
different bird from our robin. He is small- 
er — for he is not quite six inches long — and 
his color is brighter. He is a winter-bird, 
too, hopping around all through the cold 
weather ; and he is very tame and affec- 
tionate. Robins are often seen in English 
pictures of Christmas with snow on the 
ground, as at that season they are very 
busy looking for crumbs. 

"The robin redbreast is a great home- 
body, you see, and not at all a traveler, 
like our bird ; he is very fond of people, 
and people, in return, are very fond of him. 
He goes to houses in very cold weather, 



THE ENGLISH ROBIN. 1 5 

even tapping at the window with his bill, as 
if asking to be let in ; and no one ever re- 
fuses admittance to the little visitor. * It 
repays the favor by the most amiable famil- 
iarity, gathering the crumbs from the table, 
distinguishing affectionately the people of 
the house, and assuming a warble — not, in- 
deed, so rich as that of spring, but more 
delicate. This it retains through all the 
rigors of the season, to hail each day the 
kindness of its host and the sweetness of 
its retreat/ " 

The children thought this delightful ; and 
Malcolm asked, rather discontentedly, 

" Why can't our robins do such nice 
things ? There would be some sense in 
them then." 

" No," said Miss Harson, smiling ; " ours 
show their sense by not doing these things, 
for they would certainly freeze to death in 
this cold climate. You must remember 
that the winters are milder in England 
than here. This English robin has a great 
many pretty ways, and he often acts more 
like a dog than like a bird. 

" A story is told of a robin belonging to 



1 6 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

a gardener which all but speaks in return 
for several years of kind treatment from 
its master. This bird, when called upon, 
will fly from the farthest part of the garden 
at which it can hear his voice, alight upon 
his hand, and at once and without any ap- 
prehension pick its meat, and then will of- 
ten sit on his shoulder as he works or walks, 
and nestle in his bosom in assured security. 
Nay, more, when the gardener comes to 
town, if the robin, by any chance, espies 
him as he departs, it gives him an escort, 
chirping and fluttering along the hedge be- 
fore him till he reaches the toll-bar at Allo- 
way Place, on which, or on a tree near it, 
robin perches himself till his master returns. 
He attends his master when he goes to 
church, and waits at his station till both 
forenoon and afternoon services are over. 
He is equally polite on market-days, when, 
as soon as he sees him coming, he flies to 
meet him, and, fluttering before him, beck- 
ons him homeward all the way." 

The children were now quite anxious to 
take a real voyage to England to see such 
a remarkable little bird. 



THE ENGLISH ROBIN. 1 7 

" The redbreast/' continued their govern- 
ess, " is often found inside of churches 
just because he likes to be there. Jack- 
daws are found in the towers, but they 
gather for safety, and owls in the belfry, 
because that is a good place for hiding; 
while other birds sometimes get in and 
stay a while because they cannot find their 
way out. ' But to the redbreast the church 
is a home ; he perches on the columns, 
roosts on the pillars and pipes with the 
organ. He knows his way out, but is con- 
tent to stay. Would he do so if the church 
were shut up and deserted ? I think not. 
To the owl and the jackdaw their place 
of resort would be all the more attractive 
from the absence of their common enemy, 
but to robin the solitude would be distaste- 
ful owing to the departure of his friends.' 

" I remember telling you of a robin who 
was seen in a church for several years, and 
who joined its notes to the tones of the or- 
gan and the voices of the congregation, as 
though it too were singing praises to God. 
After a time the bird disappeared, to the 
great regret of those who had listened to 



1 8 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

its warble from its favorite perch on the 
top of the organ. Then," said Miss Har- 
son, hesitating, as she saw tears coming 
into the eyes of the two little girls, "it 
was found to have died." 

" Yes," added Clara, sorrowfully ; " its 
poor little skeleton was found, you know, 
in one of the pipes of the organ." 

"Well," said Malcolm, sturdily, "I'm not 
going to cry twice over that same old robin ; 
besides, he was dead and gone long ago. — 
Can't we have something lively now, Miss 
Harson ? Suppose we take larks next ?" 

Miss Harson replied : 

" Larks it shall be, Malcolm ; and, although 
enough has been written and said about 
robin redbreast to fill a very large book, 
we must leave him and his lovable little 
ways in order to make the acquaintance 
of other English birds." 



CHAPTER II. 

A SWEET SINGER: THE SKYLARK. 

" r I A HE skylark is a very popular bird/' 
X began Miss Harson, " chiefly owing 
to its sweet notes and its power of rising 
and singing whilst at a great height in the 
air. Its warble is heard when the singer 
is quite out of sight ; and this is the mean- 
ing of the beautiful line : 

" < Hark ! the lark at heaven's gate sings.' 

"The English lark is a little larger than 
the robin redbreast, and, like most singing- 
birds, it is very plainly dressed, the prevail- 
ing color being brown, with white on the 
neck and breast, mixed with a little yel- 
low and red. It spends much of its time on 
the ground, where it sometimes sings, and 
its nest is always built there. It eats small 
insects and seeds ; but it is very fond, too, 

19 



20 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

of grain that has just sprouted, and for 
this reason the farmers regard it as an ene- 
my and hire boys to frighten it away from 
their fields with a curious kind of rattle. 
Larks are caught in various ways — some- 
times to be caged, for they will sing with as 
much spirit in captivity as when free, and 
sometimes, alas ! to be roasted or made 
into pies." 

"What a shame," exclaimed Malcolm, 
"to cook singing-birds!'' 

" It does indeed seem so," replied Miss 
Harson ; " but it may comfort you, Malcolm, 
to know that larks are not at all easy to 
catch. An old English proverb says, 
'When the sky falls, we shall catch larks/ 
meaning that these birds mount up so high 
above the clouds that the sky itself must fall 
before they can be taken. And here," 
continued the governess, " is something 
beautiful about the soaring of the lark 
to which I want my children to listen atten- 
tively. It was written more than two hun- 
dred years ago by a good and learned man 
— Bishop Jeremy Taylor : 

" ' I have seen a lark rising from his bed 



THE SKYLARK. 2 1 

of grass and soaring upward, singing as he 
rises, and in hopes to get to heaven and 
climb above the clouds ; but the poor bird 



THE SKYLARK. 



was beaten back with the loud sighing of 
an eastern wind, and his motion made ir- 
regular and inconstant, descending more at 
every breath of the tempest than all the vi- 



22 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

brations of his wings served to exalt him, 
till the little creature was forced to sit down 
and pant, and stay till the storm was over- 
past ; and then it made a prosperous flight, 
for then it did rise and sing, as if it had 
learned music and motion from some angel 
as he passed some time through the air. 

" ' So is the prayer of a good man when 
agitated by any passion. He fain would 
speak to God, but his words are of this 
earth, earthy ; he would look to his Maker, 
but he could not help seeing also that 
which distracted him, and a tempest was 
raised and the man overruled ; his prayer 
was broken, and his thoughts were troubled, 
and his words ascended to the clouds, and 
the wandering of his imagination recalled 
them ; and in all the fluctuating varieties 
of passion they are never like to reach 
to God at all. But he sits him down and 
sighs over his infirmity and fixes his thoughts 
upon things above, and forgets all the little 
vain passages of this life, and his spirit is 
becalmed and his soul is even and still ; and 
then it softly and sweetly ascends to heaven 
on the wings of the Holy Dove and dwells 



THE SKYLARK. 23 

with God till it returns, like the useful bee, 
loaden with a blessing and the dew of 
heaven/ " 

The children were much taken with the 
quaint language used by the good old 
bishop, and declared that it sounded like 
Pilgrim s Progress. Miss Harson promised 
that when they were older and could under- 
stand it better she would read to them, on 
Sunday evenings, a great deal more that 
he had written. 

"Where do the larks live in winter?" 
asked little Edith. "They don't stay in 
the sky then, do they?" 

"Oh no," replied her governess; "the 
poor little birds would freeze. They have 
far pleasanter quarters in cold weather. 
Rain and high winds they particularly dis- 
like ; and when such weather prevails in 
winter, they leave their summer dwelling- 
place and travel southward in large flocks. 
It is a singular fact that they never perch 
on trees, but one or two will sometimes 
settle on a hedge or railing. November is 
the time for catching them for the table, as 
they are then fat and in good condition." 



24 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

" But how can people shoot them/' asked 
Malcolm, " if they fly so high ?" 

"They are not shot," continued Miss 
Harson, " but are taken in traps and nets. 
At that season of the year they spend 
much of their time on the ground search- 
ing for food, and are more easily caught. 
A lark-trap is sometimes made by placing 
a looking-glass on the ground near some 
food and then throwing a net over the 
birds as they stand staring at their own re- 
flections. For, strange to say, all feathered 
creatures have an immense amount of cu- 
riosity ; and when anything strikes them 
as being out of the common way, they 
wish to know the reason why quite as 
much as do some little human creatures 
with whom I am acquainted." 

The children laughed as Miss Harson 
looked at them with a smile, and it seemed 
funny enough to imagine little birds looking 
at themselves in a mirror. 

" I wonder if they think they are pretty ?" 
queried Clara. 

" However that may be, they probably 
look upon larger creatures as very ugly 



THE SKYLARK. 2$ 

monsters," replied the governess. "It has 
been very prettily said that 

" ' The Lark sang, " Give us glory," and the Dove sang, " Give 
us peace." ' 

Here is a good description of this bird's 
style of singing : 

" * Rising as it were by a sudden impulse 
from its nest or lowly retreat, it bursts 
forth, while as yet but a few feet from the 
ground, into exuberant song ; and with its 
head turned toward the breeze, now as- 
cending perpendicularly, and now veering 
to the right or left, but not describing cir- 
cles, it pours forth an unbroken chain of 
melody until it has reached an elevation 
computed to be at the most about a thou- 
sand feet. To an observer on earth, the 
lark has dwindled to the size of a mere 
speck ; but, as far as my experience goes, 
it never rises so high as to defy the search 
of a keen eye. Having reached its high- 
est elevation, it begins to descend (its am- 
bition being satisfied without making any 
permanent stay), not with a uniform down- 
ward motion, but by a series of droppings 



26 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

with intervals of simple hovering, during 
which it seems to be resting on its wings. 
Finally, as it draws near the earth, it ceases 
its song and descends more rapidly; but 
before it touches the ground it recovers it- 
self, sweeps away with almost horizontal 
flight for a short distance, and disappears 
in the herbage.' " 

"I wish we had skylarks here," said 
Clara, wistfully ; " I should like so much to 
watch them. Where do they build their 
nests, Miss Harson ?" 

"A lark's nest doesn't amount to much," 
answered Miss Harson ; " it is built on the 
ground, in a hole which the bird has scraped 
out, and sometimes in the rut of a cart- 
wheel or the hollow made by a horse's 
hoof. It is not particular in this matter ; 
and when some dry grass has been put in 
and lined with something finer, Mrs. Lark 
is quite ready to begin housekeeping. She 
lays four or five eggs, and has two broods 
of young in a year. Both parents take 
very tender care of their little ones ; and 
when a nest built in the grass is disturbed 
by mowers, a dome is made over it for pro- 



THE SKYLARK. 2J 

tection, and the mother-bird has even been 
seen to lift the little birdies in her claws 
and carry them off to a place of greater 
safety." 

"Just like my old kitty," exclaimed 
Edith ; " only she takes the baby-kitties 
in her mouth." 

"During the summer, after the young 
ones have been hatched, larks are quite 
unsocial ; nests are very seldom found 
near one another, although two or three 
pairs of birds may be living in the same 
field. This is not because they quarrel, 
for they are peaceably disposed, but only 
that they seem to prefer the privacy of the 
family circle. Even the young larks do not 
keep together after they leave the nest, but 
go their several ways over the field in the 
most unsocial manner, keeping their pa- 
rents constantly busy carrying ' meals for 
one ' to all the various haunts, But when 
able to take care of themselves, they flock 
together in great numbers and are caught 
by the wholesale. 

" Here is something, Malcolm," added 
his governess, with a smile, " that reminds 



28 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

me of your last summer's experience with 
the humming-bird : 

"'Larks frequently become the prey of 
the hawk and merlin, which pounce on 
them as they are on the point of leaving 
the ground and bear them off with as much 
ease as they would a feather. But if an 
intended victim discovers its oppressor in 
time, it instantly begins to ascend with a 
rapidity which the other cannot follow, car- 
ried on as it is by the impetus of its hori- 
zontal flight. The hawk, foiled for this 
time, renews the chase and endeavors to 
soar above its quarry. If it succeeds, it 
makes a second swoop, sometimes with 
deadly effect ; but if it fails a second time, 
the lark folds its wings, drops like lead to 
the ground, and, crouching among the 
herbage, often escapes detection.' ' 

"I'm glad of it," said Malcolm, laugh- 
ing; " but how mad should I be if I were 
the hawk !" 

" Besides the skylark," continued Miss 
Harson, " there are the woodlark, the crest- 
ed lark, the shore-lark and the short-toed 
lark ; and these all sing very sweetly, but 



THE SKYLARK. 



2 9 



they are more or less rare, though the last 
variety is often found in France. In our 
own continent there is a species of the 
skylark called the ' shore-lark/ It lives 
in the northern part of the United States, 




THE AMERICAN " MEADOW-LARK " (PROPERLY A STURNELLA, OR 
STARLING). 

Canada and Labrador. Our 'meadow- 
lark '• — of which here is a picture — is not a 
lark, but a starling, a cousin of the English 
starling, about which we shall have a talk 
some of these days." * 

* See Chapter XII. 



30 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

"Miss Harson," asked Edith, "don't you 
know any story about a lark ?" 

" Yes, pet," was the reply ; and the little 
one was lifted to her favorite seat on the 
governess's lap. " I think I do know a 
little story that I read lately about a sky- 
lark that preached a sermon. I will excuse 
either of you if you do not like stories." 

For answer, Malcolm and Clara laughed 
and nestled closer; and Miss Harson be- 
gan: 

" It was in Australia, where many people 
have gone from England to the gold-mines ; 
and a mining-camp is a rough place, where 
men think little of God or of anything but 
making as much money as possible to car- 
ry home with them. Every one grows 
careless, and Sunday is almost forgotten. 
There are no feathered songsters in Aus- 
tralia ; the birds there have beautiful plum- 
age, but they do not sing. So, when the 
man who kept a store at the mine had a 
lark sent to him in a cage from England, 
he hung it outside of his door; and the 
men, surprised and delighted, would stop 
as they passed, for the little fellow sang on, 



THE SKYLARK. 3 1 

not minding his cage a bit, and his song 
was as loud and clear beneath the roof of 
his Jittle house as though there had been 
nothing over his head but the high vault 
of heaven. How they listened, those hard- 
working men ! It seemed like a piece of 
home that went straight to their hearts; 
and many a tear was quietly wiped away 
at the thought of other and better days. 
When Sunday came one said to another, 
1 Let's go and hear the parson preach/ 
meaning the skylark ; for they declared he 
talked to them just like the parson at home, 
and made them feel ashamed of themselves ; 
and they actually washed and dressed them- 
selves decently, as though they had been 
going to church, and went by ones and 
twos and threes ' to hear the parson/ 

-"How he preached to them! He must 
have had a ' fourteenthly ' in his sermon, 
for he kept at it for two hours with scarcely 
a pause ; and the congregation sat around 
on the grass with their chins resting on 
their hands and their eyes upturned to 
Dominie Lark, while before the eyes of 
their minds were passing sweet English 



32 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

pictures of country homes and green fields, 
and they heard the voices of children at 
play or went up to the house of God as 
they had done in those old days. The 
lark preached and the men listened ; and 
when, from sheer exhaustion, he finally 
ceased, they went their ways quite thought- 
fully. Some of them even brought out 
long-unused Bibles and sat down once 
more to the study of God's word." 

"And were they good men ?" asked 
Clara ; " and did they go to church 
again ?" 

"They could not go to church at the 
mine, dear," replied Miss Harson, " because 
there was no church there ; but I do not 
believe they forgot the sermon that the 
lark had preached, and the bird may have 
been God's little messenger to make them 
think. — Do you know, Malcolm," she add- 
ed, " of any habit that you and the lark 
have in common ?" 

Malcolm fidgeted and looked embar- 
rassed. She must mean about his getting 
up in the morning, for it was a very hard job 
to get him out of bed ; and Kitty, his old 



THE SKYLARK. 33 

nurse, declared that " it took six horses to 
do it," though no one had ever heard of 
#/z^ being called in for that purpose. So, 
when Miss Harson put this home- question, 
he scarcely knew what to say. 

" Don't they get up very early ?" he 
asked, rather sheepishly. 

He was obliged to laugh outright when 
his governess, with her hand on his shoul- 
der, inquired if that was the point in which 
he and they resembled each other. 

" ' Rising with the lark ' has been a fa- 
vorite saying," she added, " but it will have 
to be discontinued ; for I have just read that 
larks do not rise early at all, but lie snugly 
under their grass coverlets until several 
other birds are up and at the business 
of the day. So you may turn out a lark, 
after all, Malcolm." 

The subject of the lark seemed to have 
become quite finished, but Miss Harson 
opened another book, that did not look 
at all like a bird-book, and said, 

"A great many poets have written about 
the lark — almost as much, indeed, as about 
the nightingale; but I think these verses 



34 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

by Wordsworth, who was well acquainted 
with the bird in his own home, will please 
you better than any : 

" ' Ethereal minstrel ! pilgrim of the sky ! 

Dost thou despise the earth, where cares abound ? 
Or, while thy wings aspire, are heart and eye 

Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground — 
Thy nest, which thou canst drop into at will, 
Those quivering wings composed, that music still ? 

" * To the last point of vision, and beyond, 

Mount, daring warbler ! That love-prompted strain 
('Twixt thee and thine a never-failing bond) 
Thrills not the less the bosom of the plain ! 
• Yet mightst thou seem — proud privilege !— -to sing 
All-independent of the leafy spring. 

" ' Leave to the nightingale the shady wood : 

A privacy of glorious light is thine, 
Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood 

Of harmony with rapture more divine, 
Type of the wise, who soar, but never roam, 
True to the kindred points of heaven and home/ :t 



CHAPTER III. 

A GREAT TALKER: THE MAGPIE. 

" ' "\ ZOU chatter like a magpie/" read 

X Clara from one of her story-books. 

— " Do magpies really talk, Miss Harson ?" 

" We will find that out this evening, 
dear," replied her governess, smiling ; for 
she was just finishing a letter that was of 
far more consequence then than magpies. 

Clara read on contentedly, for she knew 
that Miss Harson never failed to redeem 
her promises ; and, fortunately for their 
young teacher as well as for themselves, 
the little Kyles were not impatient chil- 
dren. 

After tea Miss Harson said quite com- 
ically, 

"At Clara's request, we are to have a 
dish of magpies this evening, if no one ob- 
jects to the feast. — What say you, Mal- 
colm ?" 

35 



36 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

Malcolm was anything but unwilling; 
there was some fun, he said, in magpies, 
and he hoped that Miss Harson would give 
them plenty of nice stories ; while little 
Edith asked if magpies were ever wick- 
ed enough to swear like Captain James's 
parrot. 

" I am afraid they are," was the reply, 
" as, like the parrots, they will imitate what 
they hear; but, as they cannot distinguish 
good from evil, it is not the poor birds' 
fault. Here is a very good picture of a 
magpie/' continued Miss Harson, " and you 
will see that the most remarkable thing 
about it is its long tail." 

It was a very handsomely-colored plate, 
and gave the little ornithologists a very 
clear idea of this interesting bird. 

" Why, it's no larger than a pigeon," ex- 
claimed Malcolm, in surprise; "I thought a 
magpie was bigger." 

" No," replied his governess ; " it is only 
about the size of a pigeon, and its long tail 
and short wings give it an awkward appear- 
ance and prevent it from flying with much 
speed. It is a handsome bird, though, with 



THE MAGPIE. 



37 



its black-velvet back and blue and bronze 
flashes in the tail and wings, with white un- 
derneath. It looks plump and pretty as it 
grasps that bough, and it has quite an inno- 
cent expression ; but, unfortunately, inno- 
cence and magpies do not go together. 
Here is rather a bad character for a bird : 
" ' Any one who has had an opportunity 




THE ENGLISH magpie {Pica caudata). 

of watching the habits of a tame magpie 
must have observed its extreme inquisitive- 
ness and skill in discovering what was in- 
tended to be concealed, joined, moreover, 



38 BIRDS AND THEIR JVA YS. 

to an unscrupulous habit of purloining 
everything that takes its roving fancy. 
Even when surrounded by plenty and pam- 
pered with delicacies, it prefers a stolen 
morsel to what is legally its own. Little 
wonder, then, that when it has to hunt on 
its own account for the necessaries of life, 
and is stimulated by the cravings of its 
hungry brood, it has gained an unenvi- 
able notoriety as a prowling bandit. 

" ' In the harrying of birds' nests no 
schoolboy can compete with it. Partridges 
and pheasants are watched to their retreat 
and plundered mercilessly of their eggs and 
their young ; the smaller birds are treated 
in like manner ; hares and rabbits, if they 
suffer themselves to be surprised, have 
their eyes picked out and are torn to pieces ; 
rats, mice and frogs are a lawful prey ; car- 
rion, offal of all kinds, snails, worms, grubs 
and caterpillars, each in turn, pleasantly 
vary the diet; and when in season, grain 
and fruit are attacked with as much auda- 
city as is consistent with safety, and might, 
whenever available, gives a right to stray 
chickens and ducklings. 



THE MAGPIE. 39 

" ■ The young birds, nurtured in an im- 
pregnable stronghold and familiarized from 
their earliest days with plunder, having no 
song to learn save the note of caution and 
alarm when danger is near, soon become 
adepts in the arts of their parents, and be- 
fore their first moult are a set of inquisitive, 
chattering marauders, wise enough to keep 
near the haunts of men because food is 
there most abundant, cautious never to 
come within reach of the fowling-piece, 
and cunning enough to carry off the call- 
bird from the net without falling themselves 
into the snare. Even in captivity, with all 
their drollery, they are unamiable.' " 

" What disagreeable birds !" said Clara, 
with a look of disgust. " I think they are 
a great deal worse than parrots/' 

" I don't see why people want to make 
pets of them," observed Malcolm. 

" Some people have made pets even of 
snakes," said Miss Harson ; " but tame 
magpies are very amusing, though most 
troublesomely mischievous. The magpie 
is found all over Europe and in some parts 
of Asia, and the German magpie is very 



40 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

easily tamed. In Sweden and Norway 
these birds build their nests in bushes close 
to the cottage-doors, and no one ever dis- 
turbs them. Magpies are so generally 
persecuted on account of their evil traits 
that travelers have spoken with surprise of 
the confidence and fearlessness which they 
display in Norway. ' He will only just 
move out of your horse's way/ writes 
one, ' as you drive by him on the road ; and 
should he be perched on a rail by the road- 
side, he will only stare at you as you rattle 
by, but never think of moving off/ 

" It is added, however, that, as to mag- 
pies, there is a superstition with regard to 
them throughout Norway : they are con- 
sidered harbingers of good luck, and are 
consequently always invited to preside over 
the house ; and when they have taken up 
their abode in the nearest tree, they are 
defended from all ill. The mischievous 
Norse boy or man who maltreats the mag- 
pie has perhaps driven off the home-spirit, 
and so may expect the furious anger of the 
neighboring dwelling, whose good fortune 
he has thus violently dispersed. The peo- 



THE MAGPIE, 4 1 

pie in many rural districts of England also 
are still quite superstitious about the mag- 
pie, and consider it very unlucky to kill 
one. 

"A magpie's nest is a very strange affair. 
The thorny branches of which it is made 
bristle like bayonets to keep out intruders, 
and are so rough and strong and so firmly 
entwined with the tree that it is almost an 
impossibility to get at the young. A de- 
scription of the magpie's nest says : 

" ' This is composed of an outwork of 
thorns and briers supporting a mass of 
twigs and mud, which is succeeded by a 
layer of fibrous roots. The whole is not 
only fenced around, but arched over, with 
thorny sticks, an aperture being left, on one 
side only, large enough to admit the bird. 
In this stronghold are deposited, generally, 
six eggs, which in due time are succeeded 
by as many young ogres, who are to be 
reared to birds by an unstinted supply of 
the most generous diet/ 

"The highest trees or those most diffi- 
cult to get at are chosen for these nests ; 
but when trees are not easily to be had, the 



42 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

magpie will prefer a gooseberry-bush to a 
rock. In a barren part of Scotland a pair 
of magpies built their nest and brought tip 
their families in a gooseberry-bush for sev- 
eral years. The materials in the inside of 
the nest were soft, warm and comfortable 
to the touch, but in order that foxes, cats, 
hawks and other enemies might be kept at 
a proper distance they had barricaded not 
only the nest, but the bush itself, all round 
with briers and thorns in a formidable man- 
ner. The young ones in this gooseberry- 
bush home were brought up on the fat 
of the land, which in their case meant frogs, 
mice, worms and such-like delicacies. One 
day one of the old birds decided on a rat- 
dinner, but the animal attacked was quite 
large and refused to be easily killed. A 
young magpie sallied out of the nest to 
help its parent, and finally the father, arriv- 
ing with a fine fat mouse for the larder, lent 
his aid, and the rat was despatched. On 
another day the mother-magpie, who was 
disposed to be very thievish and ungrate- 
ful — for the children had often frightened 
cats and hawks from her nest — pounced 



THE MAGPIE. 43 

upon a chicken and flew to the low roof of 
the house to eat it ; but the hen would not 
put up with this, and, rushing after the rob- 
ber, she soon brought back her frightened 
offspring in her beak, the poor little chick- 
en being now perfectly quiet, though it 
had made a great noise when the magpie 
carried it up. 

" These birds are wonderfully inquisitive, 
and anything out of the common way im- 
mediately attracts their attention. Bright 
objects are particularly attractive to them, 
and a looking-glass excites their greatest 
wonder and astonishment. Some one 
speaks of seeing a looking-glass placed on 
the ground where two magpies were hop- 
ping about. One of them came up to it 
and stared at it in apparent wonder, hopped 
off to the other, and then both returned and 
spent at least ten minutes in nodding, chat- 
tering and hopping about the glass." 

" How funny they must have looked !" 
exclaimed Malcolm, in delight. 

" They are inexpressibly funny," said Miss 
Harson, "and I always think, in reading 
about them, how I should enjoy watching 



44 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS, 

their antics. But some of their funny 
ways are not altogether agreeable ; as 
when a tame magpie that a lady was ac- 
customed to feed flew up to her one morn- 
ing with something in its bill and gratefully 
dropped a fat green worm in her mouth/' 

"Ugh!" exclaimed the little girls, shud- 
dering ; while Malcolm laughed at their 
horror and disgust. 

" Green worms are not so bad," said he, 
with a superior air. " If you were birds, 
you would think them very nice." 

" But we are not birds," replied Clara, 
quite seriously ; and Miss Harson said that 
this quite ended the subject. 

" Do all magpies talk ?" asked Malcolm. 

"No," replied his governess; "they all 
chatter and are very noisy ; and the de- 
scription, 

" ' From bough to bough the restless magpie roves, 
And chatters as she flies,' 

is a very true one. But they have to be 
taught to articulate words, and their value 
depends upon their success in doing this. 
We are told that a magpie imitates all 



THE MAGPIE. 



45 



striking sounds, and learns to speak with 
even less difficulty than the various descrip- 
tions^ of crows. It must, however, be taken 
out of the nest when quite young and sys- 
tematically instructed. Plutarch mentions 
one in the possession of a barber at Rome 
which of its own accord imitated not only 
the human voice, but also the cries of vari- 
ous animals and the sound of instruments, 
and was a general subject of conversation 
throughout the quarter of the city in which 
its owner lived. 

"A magpie can be taught to come and 
go when it is called ; it will appear at the 
dining-room window at meal-times and eat 
whatever is offered it from the table. Worms 
and insects are reserved as dainties, and five 
or six magpies are sometimes seen perched 
on * a wall, ' every now and then eagerly 
darting at the butterflies as they come 
near, and, after making a short and elegant 
circular sweep, alighting on the wall again, 
and there feeding on their prey.' " 

" What a shame for them to eat the pret- 
ty butterflies !" exclaimed Edith. 

" Don't you know," said Malcolm, quick- 



46 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

ly, " that butterflies lay the eggs out of 
which caterpillars come ? So the magpies 
are useful in that." 

"What would you think," said Miss Har- 
son, " to see a magpie alight with the great- 
est composure on the back of a sheep and 
help itself to some wool for its nest? It 
has been seen to do this, and also to supply 
itself with hair from the backs of cattle." 

" Rather a cool bird, that," observed Mal- 
colm. " I shouldn't like to be the sheep or 
the cattle." 

" A magpie always appears to think," 
continued the governess, " that anything it 
wants it was intended to possess, no matter 
at what inconvenience to the present owner; 
which may be excused in a bird, though not 
in a boy." 

" I am glad there are no magpies here," 
said Clara ; " perhaps they would want our 
hair for their nests." 

" That would be worse than bats, wouldn't 
it ?" asked her brother, mischievously. " Be- 
cause bats don't really carry it off, you 
know, only tangle themselves up in it." 

Clara blushed vividly and looked very 



THE MAGPIE. 47 

uncomfortable; for to her summer even- 
ings were largely made up of bats, and she 
was^quite sure that they visited houses for 
the one purpose of entangling themselves 
in people's hair. Miss Harson assured the 
little girl that she had never heard of any 
such experience with a bat, but Clara was 
not to be comforted when one of these 
strange winged creatures was in sight. 

"To return to our magpies," said Miss 
Harson : "they are such thieves themselves 
that they naturally suspect every other liv- 
ing creature of being dishonest, and it is 
thought to be for this reason that, while 
they keep up such an incessant and loud 
chattering at other times, they fairly whis- 
per over their work while building their 
nests, for fear that any one should know 
where to find them. As they plunder and 
pillage the nests of other birds of their 
eggs and their young, they take every pre- 
caution that they shall not be treated in the 
same way. ' Gibraltar,' says a naturalist, 
1 with its high and fortified rocks, is not 
more proof against assailing foes than is 
this thorn-defended structure against ma- 



48 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

rauders. The wicked schoolboy has often 
repented the securing of a magpie's nest 
while bearing on his hands for many a day 
the marks of his achievement/ 

" To study the habits of birds is very in- 
teresting, and one who has closely watched 
magpies and other feathered creatures 
speaks of their huddling themselves to- 
gether in considerable numbers during 
the night in order to keep each other warm. 
Somebody once saw a party of these birds 
(probably a family with their parents) sit- 
ting so closely together on a tree in a fir- 
plantation that they all seemed to be rolled 
up into a single ball. 

" The magpie has many enemies and few 
friends ; but one of the latter, whose eye 
caught beauty in all God's works, says : 
* The sight of a magpie always gives me 
pleasure, its long tail and its distinct mark- 
ings of white and black having a beautiful 
effect as it darts through the air. You may 
know this bird at a very great distance, 
either on the ground or on a tree, by the 
frequent and brisk movement of its tail — 
always up and down, never sideways.' 



THE MAGPIE. 49 

"And now," added the governess, " with 
a very little story we must leave the sub- 
ject of magpies. The story, Malcolm, is 
told by Ovid, an ancient Latin writer with 
whom you will become acquainted after a 
few years. He tells us that a family of 
young ladies in Macedonia were all changed 
into magpies because they were such end- 
less talkers. He is careful, too, to add that 
they gabbled on just the same after they 
had lost their own lovely forms : 

" * And still their tongues went on, though changed to birds, 
In endless clack and vast desire of words.' 

Some one else says that if all great talk- 
ers were changed to magpies the number 
of birds would be very much increased." 

" It is not nice to talk all the time, is it, 
Miss Harson ?" asked Clara. 

" Not at all nice, my dear," was the re- 
ply. " Great talkers are almost always 
tiresome to their friends, and I am very 
glad that my little girls are in no danger 
of being turned into magpies." 



CHAPTER IV. 

FIRST COUSINS: THE JACKDAW. 

" "T^HERE are two other birds of the 
X Corvus or crow family," said Miss 
Harson the next evening — " the jackdaw 
and the raven — that resemble the magpie 
in so many of their traits that we must 
look upon them as first cousins. 

" ' The habits of a jackdaw/ it is said, 
'are known to everybody. Wherever 
found, he is the same active, bustling, 
cheerful, noisy fellow. Whether in the 
depth of a shady wood, remote from cities 
and from towns, or whether established in 
the nooks and niches of some Gothic cathe- 
dral-tower in the very midst of the world, 
it matters not to him. He seems to know 
neither care nor sorrow, ever satisfied, al- 
ways happy. Who ever saw or heard of a 
moping, melancholy jackdaw ?' 

50 



THE JACKDAW. 5 I 

"The jackdaw resembles the magpie in 
size and color, but has not so long a tail. 
It makes its nest in old buildings and ruins 
of every kind, and is naturally half tame. 
When reared by hand, it will run about the 
yard with the poultry without seeming to 
see any difference between itself and its 
feathered companions. It does not talk so 
well as the magpie, but always seems to 
recognize its friends, and quite enjoys a 
walk with its master, its inquisitive head 
cocked on one side ready to criticise every- 
thing that passes. The bird looks comic- 
ally satisfied with himself, and struts along 
with the most consequential airs. ' He is 
a handsome bird, too, with his black head 
and wing-coverts glossed with blue and 
violet reflections, running off into gray, as 
if a smoke-wreath were floating over and 
partly hiding the rich dark shades of his 
plumage/ " 

u I wish we had one to go out walking 
with us," said Clara ; " I think it would be 
nicer than a dog. — Don't you, Edie ?" 

" Not nicer than our own dear Flip/ 7 re- 
plied the little one as she bestowed on his 



52 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

shaggy coat a caress, which the Scotch ter- 
rier received with a little yelp of satisfac- 
tion. 

"The name 'jackdaw,' " continued the 
governess, " comes from two notes which 
sound like 'jack * and 'daw/ and the bird's 
strongest traits, besides gratitude toward 
those who are kind to it, are impudence and 
dishonesty. It is such an inveterate thief 
that it takes things just for the pleasure of 
taking them — things, too, that cannot pos- 
sibly be of any use to it ' In the ruins of 
Holyrood chapel, in Edinburgh, a jackdaw 
was one day seen flying away with a large 
piece of lace toward its nest. A soldier 
undertook to climb up and recover it. He 
did so, but was surprised to find not only 
the stolen lace, but the following strange 
assortment of articles : part of a worsted 
stocking, a silk handkerchief, a frill, a child's 
cap, besides several other things, but so 
ragged and worn out that it was almost 
impossible to make out what they were.' 

" Holes and chinks are favorite dwelling- 
places for jackdaws, but the highest ones 
are always selected in preference to those 



THE JACKDAW. 53 

lower. In this way they can protect their 
eggs and young from the weasels. ■ Rocks, 
the edges of neglected quarries, the pro- 
jecting parapets of bridges, towers, steeples, 
ruins, the earth where it forms a very steep 
and crumbling bank, are all resorted to by 
the jackdaw. One would imagine that the 
birds are fonder of the society of man than 
of having the locality to themselves, but the 
fact is that these birds court the vicinity of 
human dwellings for the same reason as the 
house-swallows — because insects are more 
abundant there. Fifty towers may be built 
in an insectless wilderness, and never a 
jackdaw would care to nestle in them/ 
They are especially partial to church-tow- 
ers. A poet sings : 

" * There is a bird who by his coat, 
And by the hoarseness of his note, 

Might be supposed a crow, 
A great frequenter of the church, 
Where, bishop-like, he finds a perch, 

And dormitory too.' 

" Jackdaws, like swallows, will sometimes 
make their nests in unused chimneys. Even 
the hole of a spout has been found filled with 



54 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

the sticks, straw, wool and feathers of which 
they make their nurseries, and the rabbit- 
burrows under ground have been appro- 
priated in the same way. They are not 
particular, either, about the locality of their 
nests or the manner in which the materials 
for them are obtained. It is said that at 
Cambridge, where the jackdaws are very 
numerous, they appropriated the wooden 
labels attached to the plants in the Botanic 
Gardens to the purposes of building to such 
an extent as to cause great perplexity and 
serious inconvenience. As many as eighteen 
dozen of these labels — which were princi- 
pally of fir, and about nine inches long and 
one inch broad — were taken out of a single 
chimney-shaft in which the birds were in 
the habit of forming their nests.' 

"An immense amount of material is 
sometimes used for a nest. A jackdaw 
that began to build in the steep and narrow 
steps of a spiral stone staircase leading to 
a church-tower, finding that the steps were 
not broad enough for a firm base, piled up 
sticks to the height of five or six steps until 
a landing was reached, and here the queer- 



THE JACKDAW. 55 

looking structure was finished strongly, if it 
did not look elegant. 

" Quite as sagacious was the conduct of 
a party of daws who were building in the 
bell-tower of the chapel of Eton College, 
and who, as all their timber had to be 
drawn through a narrow opening in the 
wall, broke or cracked each stick exactly in 
the middle, so that it could be doubled and 
pulled through more easily. Indeed, con- 
sidering all his traits, the jackdaw is a won- 
derful bird. He certainly has been endowed 
by Providence with remarkable instincts. 

"A traveler says that in the island of 
Ceylon jackdaws are very impudent and 
troublesome ; so that it is almost impos- 
sible to keep them out of the houses, which 
are built open, on account of the heat, and 
cannot very easily be secured against in- 
truders. In the town of Colombo, where 
they are in the habit of picking up bones 
and other things from the streets and yards 
and carrying them to the tops of the houses, 
a battle usually takes place for the plunder, 
to the great annoyance of the people below, 
on whose heads they shower down the 



5 6 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

loosened tiles, leaving the roofs exposed to 
the weather.'' 

"Oh!" laughed the children; while Mal- 
colm wondered why such pests were not 
killed. 

" You will presently see why," continued 
Miss Harson. " But the sauciness of these 
birds is certainly astonishing, as they will 
snatch food from the table even when there 
is company ; and the more people there are 
around, the better they seem to like it 
But, in spite of their unpleasant manners 
and mischievous tricks, they are never shot 
or molested, because their services in de- 
vouring all kinds of dirt, offal or dead ver- 
min are invaluable in that hot climate, 
where such things, if allowed to remain, 
would soon produce dreadful disorders. 
The Hindus, too, have a superstitious fear 
of harming them. 

" Jackdaws are greedy as well as thiev- 
ish, and it is pleasant to know that these 
faults are sometimes punished. One of 
them flew with a piece of bread to the roof 
of a house and began to eat it. Two hun- 
gry little sparrows, who had followed the 



THE JACKDAW. 57 

large bird, soon perched close beside him, 
and probably begged in their quiet way for 
a morsel of the feast But the jackdaw 
went on pecking the bread to pieces, and 
a few crumbs slid down the sloping roof, 
when one of the sparrows tried to secure 
them. But the greedy daw dashed angrily 
at him, and left the large piece of bread to 
save the crumbs. The other sparrow quick- 
ly seized the prize and flew away with it ; 
his mate joined him, and they feasted roy- 
ally ; while the jackdaw, before he had re- 
covered from his amazement at this bold- 
ness, was left without either bread or 
crumbs. ", 

" Good for the sparrows !" cried Mal- 
colm. " I'm glad the greedy jack got pun- 
ished." 

His little sisters echoed this sentiment ; 
and Miss Harson asked, with a smile for 
her little pupil, 

" You will scarcely want a jackdaw for a 
pet now, will you, Clara?" 

" No'm," was the laughing reply ; " I think 
that Flip is better than fifty jackdaws." 

"I think he is better than one" said her 



58 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

governess, very much amused. " We should 
certainly be obliged to leave the house if it 
was to be shared with fifty jackdaws." 

"But, Miss Harson," queried Malcolm, 
" do you think we can blame the jackdaws 
for taking anything good to eat? Can 
they tell what they ought not to take?" 

" No ; we certainly cannot hold them to 
the eighth commandment, I admit. We 
may protect ourselves against their thiev- 
ing, and the daws may suffer in consequence 
of that ; but we cannot hold them respon- 
sible on questions of right and wrong. A 
stealing bird is a different creature from a 
thieving or pilfering boy." 



CHAPTER V. 

FIRST COUSINS (CONTINUED) ; THE RAVEN. 

WHAT a funny picture !" exclaimed 
Clara as the three heads bent 
over one of the volumes Miss Harson 
had brought out for their " bird-talks." 

The scene was an English farm-yard, 
with a comical-looking little dog peeping 
out of his kennel, before which stood an 
empty plate, hens, roosters and chickens 
walking around, a cat sunning herself in a 
corner, while in the middle stood an absurd 
raven with his head on one side and having 
a general air of silliness. 

" I do not know why it is made to look 
like that," said Miss Harson, " for the raven 
is not at all silly ; it has even been looked 
upon with awe by superstitious people in 
all ages. It was considered a bird of evil 
omen, and its hoarse croak was often pro- 



60 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

vocative of terror. The prophet Elijah 
was fed by ravens at the brook Cherith. 
where God had commanded him to hide 
himself from the wicked Ahab ; for * the 
ravens brought him bread and flesh in the 
morning and bread and flesh in the even- 
ing/ the bird, having been taught, in this 
case, 'to suppress its voracious instinct by 
the God who gave it/ Our word * raven- 
ous ' comes from this voracity of the raven, 
and expresses an extreme degree of hun- 
ger." 

Malcolm laughed, for he was sure that 
Miss Harson was looking at him; and he 
was very apt to be " ravenous/' 

" It is a large bird," continued the gov- 
erness, " as the picture shows it to be, be- 
ing two feet in length, including a tail of 
nearly nine inches; and it is so dark in hue 
that ' Black as a raven ' has become a com- 
mon expression. It is found in many parts 
of Europe and in some parts of America. 
No bird is more widely distributed over 
the surface of the globe. 'It croaks as 
gravely on the shores of the Black and Cas- 
pian Seas as with ourselves, visits the In- 



THE RAVEN. 



61 



dian metropolis of Calcutta, forces its way 
over the guarded shores of Japan, dwells 
among the busy inhabitants of America, 
ranges from Mount Etna to the Iceland 




THE RAVEN [Corvus cor ax), 

cold of Hecla, and braves the rigor of the 
Arctic regions as far as Melville's Island/ 

" The raven, like the magpie, builds its 
nest in some high tree and is particularly 
brave in its defence. The young ones are 
easily tamed, and can be taught to speak 



62 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

and to answer to a name. ' But they are 
so cunning and mischievous that it is ne- 
cessary for those who harbor them to keep 
a constant watch on their motions, for they 
will catch up anything that is glittering and 
carry it off to some secret hiding-place/ 

" Here," continued Miss Harson, " is a 
funny little story about the fondness of the 
raven for bright objects. The hero of the 
tale lived at an inn, and, among his other 
accomplishments, he had been taught to 
call the poultry to be fed, which he did 
very naturally. One day the table was set 
out for the coach-passengers. The cloth 
was laid with the knives and forks, spoons, 
mats and bread, and in that state it was left 
for some time, the room-door being closed, 
but the window open. The raven had very 
quietly watched the servant's proceedings, 
and was evidently seized with a desire to 
do something of the kind himself. When 
the coach was about arriving and the din- 
ner ready to be carried in, the whole para- 
phernalia of the dinner-table had vanished. 
It was a moment of consternation. Silver 
spoons, knives, forks, were all gone. But 



THE RAVEN. 63 

what was the surprise and amusement of 
the attendants to see through the open 
window, upon a heap of rubbish in the 
yard, the whole array carefully set out, 
and the raven performing the honors of the 
table to a numerous party of poultry which 
he had summoned about him and was very 
consequentially regaling with bread !" 

" Wasn't that funny ?" said the children, 
laughing. "A raven's dinner-party ! I low 
many nice stories you do find for us, Lliss 
Harson \" 

The young teacher smiled, but she did 
not tell her little charges that these " nice 
stories " and the " talks " which seemed to 
go on so easily often cost her much study 
and labor. She was satisfied and happy 
that her work was accomplishing its ob- 
ject. 

"You are not going to stop, are you, 
Miss Harson ?" asked Malcolm, with some 
anxiety. " There are lots of stories about 
ravens." 

" No, you insatiable boy," said his gov- 
erness, laughing; "but I must make a se- 
lection from these ' lots of stories.' You 



64 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

cannot have the face to expect them all? 
You must remember, too, that there are 
other birds in the world besides ravens. 
One remarkable thing about them is the 
great age to which they attain. In olden 
times they were said to live twenty-seven 
times the age of man ; so that a raven 
eighteen hundred years old would have 
been quite a common sight; but this we 
cannot believe. This bird does not, like 
the jackdaw, hover around the dwellings 
of men, but chooses solitary places, gener- 
ally in wild and mountainous districts ; and 
a raven's nest is spoken of as being for 
centuries in a wild place where no human 
creature could get at it. Here is an ac- 
count of a nest in a different place : 

" ' In the centre of the grove there stood 
an oak which, though shapely and tall on 
the whole, bulged out into a large excres- 
cence about the middle of the stem. On 
this a pair of ravens had fixed their resi- 
dence for such a series of years that the 
oak was distinguished by the title of the 
" Raven Tree/' Many were the attempts 
of the neighboring youths to get at this 



THE RAVEN. 6$ 

eyrie ; the difficulty whetted their inclina- 
tion, and each was ambitious of achieving 
the arduous task. But when they arrived 
at the swelling, it so jutted out in their way, 
and was so far beyond their grasp, that the 
most daring lads were awed and acknowl- 
edged the undertaking to be too hazardous. 
So the ravens built on, nest upon nest, till 
the fatal day arrived in which the wood was 
to be leveled. It was in the month of 
February, when these birds usually sit. 
The saw was applied to the butt, the 
wedges were inserted into the opening, 
the woods echoed to the heavy blows of 
the beetle, or mallet, the tree nodded to its 
fall ; but. still the dam sat on. At last, 
when it gave way, the bird was flung from 
her nest, and, though her parental affection 
deserved a better fate, was whipped down 
by -the twigs which brought her dead to 
the ground/ " 

"What wicked people!'' cried the little 
ones, almost in tears over the fate of the 
poor raven, while Malcolm expressed a 
wish that the men had been soundly beaten 
with the twigs that were used to kill the 

5 



66 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

bird ; and even Miss Harson admitted that 
she herself would not have objected to 
this. 

"It is quite amusing/' continued their 
governess, to divert their attention from 
this sad subject, u to read of the antics of 
ravens when they are at play : ' They spend 
their leisure-time in striking and cuffing 
each other on the wing in a kind of play- 
ful skirmish, and when they move from one 
place to another frequently turn on their 
backs with a loud croak and seem to be 
falling to the ground. When this odd ges- 
ture betides them, they are scratching them- 
selves with one foot, and thus lose the cen- 
tre of gravity/ They will play tricks on 
one another, too, when they have the 
chance ; and a story is told of two ravens 
who were kept in one large cage or pen in 
the Zoological Gardens in London. A visit- 
or, it seems, threw in two pieces of bun, one 
for each ; but one of the ravens jumped 
from his perch, and before his compan- 
ion could catch either of the pieces he* 
secured them both in his beak and jumped 
back again to his perch, holding the pieces 



THE RAVEN. 67 

of bun until his comrade was at the far- 
ther end of the ca^e. Then he flew down 
again and buried one of the pieces, which 
he carefully covered with gravel ; and, 
jumping back to his perch with the other 
piece, he devoured it. He then hopped 
down for the buried piece, and, going 
back with that, devoured it in the same 
way, much to the annoyance of ' the little 
pig who had none/ " 

The young audience pronounced this 
raven "a mean fellow/' and Miss Harson 
said that she would tell them about the 
quarrels of the ravens and the jackdaws. 

" They are sworn enemies," she said, 
" although so much alike ; and the croak 
of a raven and the loud chattering of a 
flock of jackdaws, when heard together, 
generally mean battle. A raven's nest was 
placed in a fork at the very top of one of 
the highest in a clump of old beech trees, 
while their hollow trunks were occupied by 
a numerous colony of jackdaws. One of 
the ravens would dash into the midst of 
the jackdaws with a warlike croak and 
drive them off quite a distance, the daws 



68 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

scolding and chattering, but not daring to 
remain. The next day, however, the per- 
son who watched them saw that the ravens 
were absent; and the jackdaws, taking ad- 
vantage of this, had gathered in large num- 
bers and were as busy about the beeches 
as a swarm of bees, some carrying mate- 
rials to finish their nests, some conveying 
food to their mates, and all making the 
most of their time during the absence of 
their tormentors. The male raven came 
back first, and the jackdaws were thrown 
into great consternation. They all gath- 
ered on a single tree, keeping up an in- 
cessant chattering, and each bird changing 
rapidly from bough to bough, while the ra- 
ven, who had brought some food in his 
beak, made two or three swoops into the 
terrified crowd ; and, having routed the 
mob, he went to the tree in which his nest 
was placed. 

" Dogs and ravens are usually very good 
friends ; and a story about a dog and a raven 
is told by a gentleman who many years ago 
stopped at an inn in England. ' Coming 
into the inn-yard,' he says, - my chaise ran 






THE RAVEN. 69 

over and bruised the leg of a favorite New- 
foundland dog ; and while we were exam- 
ining the injury, Ralph, the raven, looked 
on also, and was evidently making his re- 
marks on what was being done ; for the 
minute my dog was tied up under the 
manger with my horse, Ralph not only vis- 
ited him, but brought him bones and at- 
tended him with particular marks of kind- 
ness. I spoke of it to the hostler, who told 
me that the bird had been brought up with 
a dog, that the affection between them was 
mutual, and that all the neighborhood 
had been witnesses of the many acts of 
kindness performed by one to the other. 
Ralph's friend, the dog, in course of time 
had the misfortune to break his leg ; and 
during the long period of his confinement 
the raven constantly waited on him, carried 
him his provisions and scarcely ever left 
him alone. Once, by accident, the stable- 
door had been shut, and Ralph had been 
deprived of his friend's company all night ; 
but in the morning the hostler found the 
door so pecked away that had it not been 
opened Ralph would in another hour have 



70 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

made his own entrance. The landlord not 
only confirmed the hostler's account, but 
mentioned many other acts of kindness 
shown by this bird to all dogs in general, 
but more particularly to maimed or wound- 
ed ones/ " 

This story gave great satisfaction, and 
Miss Harson added: 

" We must now take our leave of these 
interesting birds, and our next talk will 
finish the immediate family to which they 
belong." 



CHAPTER VI. 

SOME SOLEMN BIRDS: THE ROOK. 

" T T ERE is another large black bird," 
JLjL said Malcolm, studying the picture. 
" It looks like a crow or a raven. " 

" It is a very different bird, though," re- 
plied his teacher, " in spite of its belonging 
to the same Corvus family. This is the 
famous English rook, a very social bird and 
much more respectable and aristocratic than 
the raven. There are few English parks 
that do not boast of their rookery ; and 
people who own these beautiful parks will 
value almost as highly as the park itself 
the, air of antiquity and respectability that 
a colony of these birds is supposed to give. 
" Old elm trees are the favorite haunts of 
the rooks, and through an avenue of these 
trees will sometimes be heard a constant 
'.Caw! Caw! Caw!' kept up all daylong. 
They are quite affectionate birds, sometimes 

71 



72 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

becoming so attached to their owner as to 
follow him to other quarters. This was 
the case with a farmer on whose premises 
a number of rooks built their nests, multi- 
plying so largely in three or four years that 
the farmer had quite a rookery, which he 
very much prized. But he took a larger 
farm, and had to change his residence and 
leave his rooks, when, to his great surprise 
and pleasure, the whole rookery manifested 
such an attachment toward him as led them 
to desert their former habitation and accom- 
pany him to his new abode, which was about 
three-quarters of a mile off; and there they 
have continued to flourish ever since. 

" Sometimes a rookery is formed by 
placing several bundles of sticks arranged 
like nests among the highest branches of 
the trees where the colony is to be made. 
Stray rooks in search of a home, mistaking 
these for ruins of old nests, are very apt to 
accept the invitation, if the locality suits 
them, and permanently to establish them- 
selves. 

" These birds have been called prophets 
because they invariably desert a tree that 



THE ROOK. 



73 



is about to fall, but this happens only be- 
cause signs of decay are visible in the up- 
per branches, where they build, and which 
are not seen by men, while the tree seems 
solid below, instinct teaching them to avoid 
any spot that is unsound. They are also 




THE ROOK [Corvus fj'ugilegus). 

said to predict rain by suddenly rising al- 
most perpendicularly into the air, with 
great cawing and curious antics, until they 
have reached a considerable elevation, and 
then, having attained their object, whatever 
that may be, drop, with their wings almost 



74 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

folded, until within a short distance of the 
ground, when they recover their propriety 
and alight either on trees or on the ground 
with their customary grave demeanor. This 
gravity has caused them to be called ' the 
clergymen among birds ; grave, black- 
coated, sententious, with an eye to a snug 
sylvan abode/ There is a soft and pleas- 
ant sound in the voices of the young rooks 
— a sort of kindly chuckle like that of an 
infant being fed. 

" Besides the invariable * Caw P rooks 
are capable of quite a variety of sounds, 
and their powers of imitation are quite 
wonderful. One is mentioned by a natu- 
ralist that could bark so exactly like a dog 
that, if out of sight, no one could tell the 
difference. Another imitated the note of a 
jackdaw. 

" These birds have a curious habit, after 
spending the day abroad, of returning in a 
flock to their nests in the evening, when, as 
a poet says, 

' rustling on the wing, 
From their wide plumes the rooks thick darkness fling.' 

"Rooks are much given to quarreling 



THE ROOK. 75 

and fighting and pulling one another's nests 
to pieces, yet they seem to be very sociably 
inclined, as many as ten or fifteen nests be- 
ing found on one tree. Should a pair un- 
dertake to set up with a tree to themselves, 
their nest is at once plundered and de- 
stroyed, such a proceeding being probably 
looked upon in rook society as ' taking on 
airs.' Some unhappy pairs are not al- 
lowed to finish their nests till the rest have 
completed theirs. If they succeed in put- 
ting a few sticks together, a party comes and 
demolishes the whole. 

" In spite of these squabbles, they are very 
prompt in punishing those who are evil- 
disposed,, and very particular, while build- 
ing, to avoid picking up a stick that has 
chanced to drop. Intruders from strange 
rookeries receive no mercy, as these birds 
do not approve of roving, and almost inva- 
riably keep to the tree in which they were 
born and bred. A singular strife once took 
place between the rooks which for many 
years had occupied a large tree in a garden 
and a pair of strange rooks that had estab- 
lished themselves on a neighboring tree. 



j6 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

The new comers had almost finished their 
nest, when their neighbors, disapproving of 
a new or rival colony, watched their oppor- 
tunity, and, descending in a body, wreaked 
their vengeance on the nest, which they 
soon destroyed. This was repeated sev- 
eral times ; but at length, profiting by experi- 
ence, one of the birds remained constantly 
at the nest to repel any attempts that might 
be made upon it by their enemies. The 
one remaining at home was supplied with 
food by the other. The attacks were still 
continued, but the persevering couple man- 
aged to rear their nestlings in spite of the 
opposition of the neighboring rooks. 

" These birds seem able at once to dis- 
tinguish friends from strangers. A clergy- 
man who had a small rookery near his 
house said that when he walked under the 
trees they showed no signs of alarm, but 
when a stranger approached they were evi- 
dently uneasy and expressed by loud ca wr- 
ings and movements their wish for his de- 
parture. Rooks are represented as partic- 
ularly shy and vigilant, but not so much so 
on the lawn and in the park as on the dis- 



THE ROOK. J J 

tant pastures and in the ploughed fields. 
'In the neighborhood of towns they are al- 
ways more wary than in the country; so 
thajt holding out a gun or a stick, or even 
the arm, or standing stock-still, is sure to 
make them fly off, unless you are several 
hundred yards distant/ " 

" What cowards !" said Malcolm, con- 
temptuously. 

" To be cautious is not to be cowardly/' 
replied his teacher, " and birds have gener- 
ally reason enough to dread the approach 
of man. The rooks even appoint sentinels, 
when they are feeding in parties, to prevent 
the possibility of a surprise ; and these 
rook-sentinels are so vigilant that it is by 
no means easy to get within shot of a for- 
aging- party. Hence it is popularly believed 
that rooks can smell gunpowder, and the 
same thing is believed about our American 
crows : 



" ' The carrion-crow smelleth powder, 'tis said, 
As a soldier escheweth the taste of cold lead.' 



"'We have often proved, however/ says 
an English writer, ' that it is just as difficult 



78 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

to approach them without alarming the 
sentinels when only carrying an umbrella 
as when armed with a fowling-piece ; but 
that they have some knowledge of firearms 
appears from their being alarmed if a walk- 
ing-stick is leveled at them, though no noise 
is made — a knowledge most probably ac- 
quired by the reiterated experience of 
having the nest-trees fired at when the 
young are fit to be made into pies.' ' 

"' Pies' !" exclaimed the children. " Do 
they make such birds into pies ?" 

"Yes," replied Miss Harson. "Rook- 
pie used to be quite a common dish, and it 
may now occasionally be found on the ta- 
ble of some plain country squire. I am 
quite sure, though, that those who are not 
accustomed to it would prefer chicken-pie. 
' Eating crow ' is not considered very de- 
lectable with us." 

" Do they fight with the jackdaws, like 
the ravens ?" asked Malcolm, who was 
very fond of hearing of battles. 

"No," was the reply; "rooks are very 
fond of company. 'The jackdaw, and even 
the starling, is allowed to associate with 



THE ROOK. 79 

them, and a mutual good understanding- 
seems to exist among them. Even the 
sparrow is sometimes allowed to build its 
nest under the protection of the rook/ 
Jackdaws and rooks are particular friends. 
We are told that in the winter months the 
jackdaws and rooks flock together and col- 
lect their food on the same fields, and of 
the same kind, without any hostility ; but 
in the spring, when the rooks return to 
their trees, the jackdaws collect about 
the rocks and towers. 

" ' In the latter part of the season/ says 
a naturalist, 'when the rooks from one of 
the most extensive rookeries in Britain 
made daily excursions of about six miles 
to the warm grounds by the seaside, and in 
their flight passed over a deep ravine, in the 
rocky sides, or rather side (for they inhab- 
it the sunny one), of which there were many 
jackdaws, I have observed that when the 
cawing of the rooks in their morning flight 
was heard at the ravine, the jackdaws, who 
had previously been still and quiet, instant- 
ly raised their shriller notes and flew out to 
join the rooks, both parties clamoring 



80 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

loudly, as if welcoming each other ; and 
that on the return — the time of which was 
no bad augury of the weather of the suc- 
ceeding day — the daws accompanied the 
rooks a little past the ravine. Then both 
cawed their farewell and departed. What 
is more singular, I have seen, too frequent- 
ly for its being merely accidental, a daw re- 
turn for a short time to the rooks, a rook 
to the daws, or one from each race meet 
between and be noisy together for a space 
after the bands had separated/ ' 

The children thought this very wonder- 
ful ; but little Edith suddenly inquired, 

" Don't rooks ever do anything real 
funny, Miss Harson ?" 

The governess smiled at her little pupil, 
who evidently thought the bird they had 
been discussing rather too grave to be 
interesting ; and presently she replied : 

" They are rather solemn, you know, as 
we found at the beginning, and, as a gen- 
eral thing, do not indulge in undignified 
antics, like many of their relations. But 
they are wonderfully intelligent, as are the 
other members of the crow tribe. The 



THE ROOK. 8 1 

book I have in my hand speaks of 'the 
drolleries of a rook belonging to the Ship 
Inn, at Faversham, which was much fre- 
quented by commercial travelers, whose 
chaises, if their stay was a brief one, were 
allowed to remain in the yard. The rook, 
in a listless manner, and as if he had no 
object in view, would hop about one, and 
at last disappear under the driving-seat. 
In a short time the horse was put to, and 
the traveler drove on to the next stage, 
when the rook issued from his concealment 
and by the most impressive croaks signified 
his delight at his escapade. This was of 
constant occurrence. Another bird on the 
same road was in the habit of accompany- 
ing a coach which changed horses at his 
masters house on its way to London till 
it met the down coach, when it transferred 
itself to that vehicle and returned home/ " 

Edith laughed delightedly at the cunning 
of the rook, and Malcolm decided that such 
a sagacious bird would make a very desir- 
able pet. 

" Now," said Miss Harson, " we have be- 
come pretty well acquainted with four re- 



82 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

markable birds that are relations of our 
common crow. Can you think of any 
others, Malcolm, with the same traits and 
belonging to the same tribe ?" 

After thinking for a moment, Malcolm 
ventured to suggest the blue jay. 

" Yes," replied the governess ; " he is 
found with us, but he is also common in 
England, and is the very handsomest of 
the corvine family. His disagreeable voice, 
however, detracts from his beauty, and the 
words, 

" ' Proud of cerulean stains 

From heaven's unsullied arch purloined, the jay- 
Screams hoarse,' 

describe him exactly. He is like the mag- 
pie in being a great chatterer and very de- 
structive. I wonder, now, which of all these 
birds we should choose to have around us ?" 

"There is most fun in magpies," said 
Malcolm, decidedly. 

Edith thought a jackdaw would be nice 
to play with ; while her sister and Miss 
Harson were in favor of rooks, as " better 
behaved " than the rest of the family. But 
no one seemed to want a raven. 



THE ROOK. 83 

"And now," said their teacher, "you may 
like to know the scientific names of the 
members of the family. The jackdaw is 
Corvus monedula ; the raven is Co7'vus 
cor ex ; the rook is Corvits frugilegus ; our 
crow is Coi'vus Ame7-'icanMs" 



CHAPTER VII. 

MERRY WARBLERS: THE FINCH FAMILY. 

" T yl 7E have now come to another large 

V V and interesting family of birds," 
said Miss Harson — " the Fringillidae or 
finch family — which contains many of the 
singing-birds of Great Britain. " 

" Won't you tell us about canaries some 
time ?" asked Clara. "And isn't my canary 
an English bird?" 

" I scarcely think it can be called so, as it 
was born in an American cage," replied her 
governess. — " Perhaps Malcolm can tell us 
where canaries really belong." 

She saw that he was very anxious to do 
this, and he now answered promptly : 

"In the Canary Islands." 

" That is their original birthplace," con- 
tinued Miss Harson, "and they belong to 
the very family I spoke of, for a canary is 

84 



THE CHAFFINCH. 85 

neither more nor less than a finch. But 
on this particular evening/' she added, with 
a smile, " I have prepared myself for chaf- 
finches ; and, with Clara's permission, we 
will let the canaries wait until their turn 
comes." 

The little girl was quite satisfied with her 




the chaffinch (Fringilla Calebs). 

teacher's arrangement, and Edith said that 
she wanted to hear about all the birds in the 
world. 

"I cannot promise that you shall do 
that," said her governess, " but I will try to 



86 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

tell you of all about which you are likely to 
care. Here is a picture of the chaffinch, a 
little bird about the size of a house-sparrow, 
with a chestnut-brown back tinged with 
olive-green, the tail black and ashen-gray 
mixed with white. He is a very popular 
bird on account of his sweet song, and is 
often deprived of his liberty and made to 
spend his life in a cage. He is very cheer- 
ful, though, even in captivity ; and 'As gay 
as a chaffinch ' is a common French prov- 
erb. 

" The chaffinch is a * smart, active, lively 
bird, always in a bustle, flitting here and 
there incessantly and staying long no- 
where, always wearing a holiday look, so 
trim and spruce is he, and rattling through 
his song with wondrous volubility/ This 
reminds us of our own bobolink ; the two 
seem alike in many respects. 

" Master Chaffinch is not very popular in 
the spring, when he is at large, as he is a 
decided enemy to horticulture. He is fond 
of young shoots, and in the early morning 
he pays visits to the flower-garden and scat- 
ters buds of polyanthuses, which he attacks 



THE CHAFFINCH. 87 

and pulls to pieces as soon as they begin 
to push up through the leaves. He goes 
to the kitchen-garden for mustard, cress 
and radishes, being partial to pungent 
things. If, in sowing these seeds, a few 
are dropped on the surface, the chaffinch's 
sharp eye spies them at once ; and down 
he goes to dig for hidden treasures, with- 
out the least twinges of conscience in re- 
gard to the future crop. It must be re- 
membered, though, that for what he de- 
stroys in this way he pays liberally by 
cleansing off the seeds of noxious weeds 
that without his services would spring up 
and cover the ground. When Chaffie is 
disturbed in his meal, he does not usually 
go farther away than the nearest tree, hop- 
ping about until the danger is past and war- 
bling his simple note— 'twink' or 'pink' 
or ' tweet ' — in a restless, anxious tone 
which shows that his nest is near. 

" The chaffinch is found all over Europe, 
and is very common in Germany. It has a 
great many different names, all expressive 
of its brisk and lively habits or of other 
characteristics. It has been called the 



88 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

pink, the spink, the twink, the shilfa, the 
skelly, the chaffy and the beech-finch. Un- 
der the name of shilfa a poet describes it 
in the following pretty sonnet : 

(i ' List to the merry shilfa ! On the air 

It sweetly trills a morning song of praise, 
And flits from bough to bough, now here, now there, 

Nor long in any spot or posture stays — < 

A lively bird that, in the early days 
When only fitful gleams of sunshine break 

Athwart the leaden gloom and misty haze 
That veil the infant year, will frequent make 

The leafless woods re-echo to its call; 
Treef ! treef ! a low, sweet note, and then a shrill 

And sharp _/?»£/ fink ! upon the ear doth fall, 
Like speech expressive of a sentient will; 

As brisk, as merry and as loved a bird 

As any in the fields and woodlands heard.' 

" The song of the chaffinch in its wild 
state is particularly clear ; but, although 
gay and sweet, it is rather monotonous. 
After each twitter it seems to utter the 
sounds of the words 'Which do you ?' and, 
in addition to its other names, the gay little 
bird is known in some neighborhoods as 
1 the which-do-you ?' 

"The German chaffinches are the best 
singers, and in the district of Thuringia 
the people are great admirers of this bird. 



THE CHAFFINCH. 89 

They will go as far as the Hartz Mountains 
— a distance of eighty miles — in hopes of 
catching a fine singer. A cow is often 
considered a fair exchange for a first-class 
warbler; so that, in speaking of a valuable 
chaffinch, it is common to say, ' It is worth 
a cow/ A good judge of chaffinches is 
delighted when he hears one that is able 
perfectly to sing what is called ' the double 
trill of the Hartz ;' and it is said that those 
who are able to accomplish this song might 
easily be taught to speak, as it requires a 
distinct pronunciation of the various syl- 
lables. 

" Wild chaffinches are frequently heard 
imitating the notes of other birds, and they 
will exactly repeat the notes of the canary 
when caged near it. The nightingale also 
is imitated ; but the powers of different 
birds vary greatly, one chaffinch being able 
to repeat a song which it has heard but 
once, while another will take six months to 
learn it. These poor little birds have even 
been deprived of sight to make them sing 
at night as well as in the daytime; but 
such cruelty will certainly be punished by 






90 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

the God who made them, and whose loving 
care is over all his creatures. 

" The chaffinch's nest is an exquisite 
piece of workmanship — as beautiful as that 
made by the humming-bird. As a general 
thing, it is built on the branch of a tree, 
and is made with great ingenuity. The 
upper part is as perfectly round as if it 
had been turned, and it is fastened to the 
bough with cobwebs, while hair, moss and 
small twigs are the materials. It is lined 
with feathers, thistledown and hair, while 
the outside is ornamented with lichens 
from the tree fastened on with cobwebs. 
Altogether, it is a very pretty and luxuri- 
ous cradle for the four or five baby-chaf- 
finches that are expected to occupy it ; and 
it is a very safe one, for it can scarcely be 
distinguished from the trunk of the tree 
that supports it. 

" The poet Cowper tells of a pair of 
chaffinches which chose a block near the 
head of the mast of a vessel lying at a 
wharf as the place for their nest, and four 
eggs were laid in it. When the vessel 
moved, the birds followed it ; and, though 



THE CHAFFINCH. 9 1 

the block was sometimes lowered to dis- 
play the curiosity, the nest was not for- 
saken. The father-bird, however, would 
seldom visit the nest, while the hen never 
left it except when she descended for food. ,, 

" That was not a polite bird," observed 
Malcolm, " not to feed his mate while she 
was attending to the eggs." 

" He certainly was not," replied Miss 
Harson ; " but it is pleasant to think that it 
is not a common habit with birds to let the 
hen forage for herself while sitting. An- 
other chaffinch that had built its nest in 
a cavity made by three boughs springing 
from the top of an old stump was watched 
by some children ; and when the parent- 
bird went off to look for food, they sprinkled 
seeds and rice around the edge of the nest. 
The little bird hopped about and devoured 
these with evident pleasure on its return, 
and it was the children's delight to pro- 
vide it a daily supply. By the time the 
young ones were hatched, Mamma Chaffinch 
seemed to expect her provisions as regu- 
larly as the day came round ; and she was 
never disappointed. But one day a bold 



92 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

little sparrow made a dive at the chaffinch's 
food and carried off some of it, when away 
rushed the indignant bird after the thief, 
had a pitched battle with her, and, having 
driven her away, returned triumphant." 

" I wish we could feed a little chaffinch," 
said Edith at the conclusion of this story. 
— " Let us look at all the old stumps, Clara, 
and perhaps we shall find a bird that wants 
something to eat." 

Clara agreed to this ; and the little sisters 
almost expected some bird to be obliging 
enough to build her nest where they could 
have the pleasure of feeding her. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HOME PETS: THE CANARY-BIRD. 

" "X T OW, Clara," said Miss Harson when 
X\l they were gathered cozily in the 
schoolroom for another bird-talk, " I think 
that I am ready to attend to your canaries. 
I wonder if Master Black-crest will under- 
stand that he and his relations are being 
talked of?" 

" Black-crest " was a beautiful canary 
that had been given to Clara about a year 
previous, and the little girl was very fond 
of her pet. His cage was hung in one of 
the sunny schoolroom windows when it was 
not too sunny, and he was so fond of the 
sound of human voices that he would often 
break forth into loud trills when people 
were talking ; so that to obtain peace and 
quietness it was necessary to extinguish 
him with a sheet of brown paper wrapped 

93 



94 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

around his cage. He was under this cover 
now, but there was no danger of his prick- 
ing up his ears, even if he had any, to hear 
what was going on, for his little black head 
was tucked under his wing and he was fast 
asleep. 

" This pretty little bird/' continued Miss 
Harson, " which is at home in so many dif- 
ferent countries, really belongs, as Mal- 
colm has told us, in the Canary Islands, 
where it breeds on the banks of rivulets. 
About three hundred and fifty years ago a 
ship bound for Leghorn took the first cana- 
ries to Europe. This ship foundered, or 
sank, near the island of Elba. This acci- 
dent set the birds at liberty. Finding the 
climate very much like the one they had 
left, they began to pair and build their nests 
there in quite a homelike fashion. But 
their beautiful notes were their ruin : all 
the bird-catchers were after them to trans- 
plant them into every country of Europe, 
and it is said that not one can now be found 
on the island where first they landed." 

" I shall always think of Napoleon and 
canaries together now," said Malcolm. 



THE CANARY-BIRD. 



95 



"Both have helped to make interesting 
a somewhat unknown island," replied his 
governess, " but the short residence of the 
canaries there is not so well known as that 




THE CANARY (Fringilla Canaria), 

of Napoleon. The bird is said at first to 
have resembled a linnet, and to have had a 
gray back and wings, with a greenish hue 
on the under-part of the body. But the 
great changes through which it has passed 
from a wild state to domestication, the dif- 
ferences of climate and mating with birds 
not of the same family, though of the same 
species, — all these things have made cana- 



g6 BIRDS AND THEIR WA YS. 

ries of almost every color. The most 
common hue is a bright sulphur known as 
* canary-color/ but there are also gray, yel- 
low, white, blackish and reddish-brown, be- 
sides mixtures of these with some other 
shades. " 

"What color is Black-crest?" asked 
Clara, with much interest ; for she wanted 
him to be of the very best color that a ca- 
nary could wear. She was therefore highly 
pleased when her governess told her that 
her pet bird belonged to one of the most 
desirable kinds, being of a golden yellow 
as to his body, with black head, wings and 
tail. 

" Canaries that are irregularly mottled 
or spotted," added Miss Harson, "as well 
as those of the same color throughout, are 
not considered of much value. The plum- 
age of the male is generally brighter in 
color than that of his mate, his head lar- 
ger and longer, the body more slender, the 
neck not so short ; and the legs are longer 
and straighten The ordinary size of this 
little bird is about five inches, measuring 
from the beak to the tip of the tail. 



THE CANARY-BIRD. 97 

" It is a very pretty sight to watch cana- 
ries making their nests, which they usually 
do in April. A supply of fine moss and 
lichen is all they need, though the hair of 
various animals, swine's bristles, fine, dry 
hay, shreds of paper and woolen or linen 
cloth are often given. The birds always 
select the coarse materials to begin with, 
and keep the fine, soft ones to line the 
nest. The mother-bird is generally the 
builder, the male only choosing the place 
for the nest and carrying her the materials. 
How wonderfully are these little creatures 
taught by their Creator to construct their 
homes !" 

" Let us give Black-crest some things 
for a nest," said Clara, very earnestly ; " it 
would be so cunning to see him make 
it!" 

" Black-crest is an old bachelor," said 
Malcolm, laughing ; " what does he want 
of a nest? He hasn't any mate." 

"We cannot have everything in one bird, 
dear," replied Miss Harson, kindly ; for the 
little girl had appealed to her. " Black- 
crest is a very fine singer and a beautiful 

7 



98 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

bird, and for these very reasons he would 
not be likely to build a nest. The house- 
keepers among canaries are not so pretty 
and do not sing so well as their mates ; 
some of them even do not sing at all. So 
we will just be thankful for Black-crest as 
he is. 

" The canary lays five or six eggs, of a 
sea-green color spotted and streaked with 
reddish-brown, and the baby-canaries are 
among the ugliest things imaginable, though 
in this they do not differ much from all 
young birds. I shall never forget my dis- 
appointment, as a child, at the first sight of 
some eagerly-looked-for fledglings. I had 
expected to see lovely little miniatures of 
the parent-birds, with wings and feathers 
complete; and when I beheld four hideous 
little naked objects that seemed to be all 
mouth, I was very much disgusted. It is 
twelve days before the little birds have any 
feathers, and during that time they have to 
use their mothers wing for a coverlet. At 
thirteen days old they are able to feed 
themselves, and can then be put into sep- 
arate cages. 



THE CANARY-BIRD. 99 

" * The canary,' says an English writer, 
* has always been a favorite cage-bird, not 
only on account of the beauty of its plumage 
and the excellence of its song, but also of 
its docility, affectionate disposition and the 
readiness with which it breeds in confine- 
ment. Another source of gratification con- 
nected with this bird is the observation of 
its peculiarities of disposition. Some are 
melancholy, others lively; some of a peace- 
ful, others of a quarrelsome, disposition ; 
some docile, others stupid. Their chief 
recommendation, however, consists in their 
loud, lively and various song, which is con- 
tinued throughout the year — in some cases, 
even in the moulting season. Some, which 
are very much esteemed, will sing even at 
night if a light be placed near their cage 
— a peculiarity which, though natural in 
some, is in most the result of long train- 
ing/ 

" Canaries from the Tyrol, which imitate 
the nightingale's song, hold the first rank. 
Next to these come the English canaries 
which have acquired the warbling of the 
wood-lark. In Thuringia those are most 



IOO BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

esteemed which have been taught to de- 
scend through the notes of an octave in a 
clear, silvery tone, occasionally introducing 
a trumpet-like song. 

" The canary has so fine an ear and so 
good a memory of what it has heard that 
it can reproduce sounds of almost any 
kind. The variety of its own song arises 
from this very gift, as it has been accus- 
tomed when young to imitate the songs of 
all the birds it hears ; and it can quite 
easily be taught particular tunes. Short 
words, too, have been distinctly uttered, 
and it has been trained to distinguish 
names, colors, letters and numbers, and to 
perform certain actions at the word of com- 
mand." 

" Aren't the people who teach them very 
cruel to them ?" asked Malcolm. 

" I am afraid that often they are," respond- 
ed his governess; "and I never hear of 
learned canaries and their tricks without 
thinking how the poor little birds must 
have suffered. Some one writes, T once 
saw a female in the possession of a person 
in Alsace which selected from an alphabet 



THE CANARY-BIRD. 101 

and placed in order the letters of certain 
words, added, subtracted and multiplied, 
and indicated, by means of numbers, the 
exact time of a watch. He had also three 
males with him, which were able to select 
letters and numbers which were named. 
Hunger had been the chief means used in the 
education of all/ So you see that the poor 
little pupils were probably half starved be- 
fore they learned their lessons. I wonder 
if it would make my scholars very bright 
to keep them without dinner and tea?" 

" O-h !" groaned the children at this idea, 
but the next moment they laughed. "As 
if our dear Miss Harson," they said, with 
kisses, " could do such a thing !" And, 
having promised not to treat them like 
canaries, their governess proceeded : 

"Wonderful things are told of these 
clever little birds. Many years ago some 
were exhibited which, among other curious 
doings, acted a regular trial and execution 
scene. First, a canary was brought from 
prison by his comrades, who formed a circle 
round him. One lifted up his leg, as if to 
behead the culprit, who straightway fell 



102 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

down, pretending to be dead ; he was then 
carried off and buried in sand, while others 
sang a dirge during the ceremony. Among 
performances by goldfinches, linnets and 
canary-birds — all belonging to the same 
Fringillidae family — one appeared dead and 
was held up by the tail or the claw without 
exhibiting any sign of life ; a second stood 
on its head with its claws in the air ; a third 
imitated a Dutch milkmaid going to market 
with pails on her shoulders ; a fourth mim- 
icked a Venetian girl looking out at a win- 
dow; a fifth appeared as a soldier and 
mounted guard as sentinel ; a sixth was a 
cannoneer, with a cap on its head, a fire- 
lock on its shoulder and a match in its 
claw, and discharged a small cannon. The 
same bird also acted just as if it had been 
wounded ; it was wheeled in a little barrow 
to convey it to the hospital, after which it 
flew away before the company. The sev- 
enth turned a kind of windmill ; and the 
last bird stood in the midst of some fire- 
works, which were discharged all around it, 
and this without its exhibiting the least sign 
of fear." 



THE CANARY-BIRD. IO3 

The children were delighted with these 
accounts, and begged Miss Harson to tell 
them all the stories she had ever heard 
about canaries ; but she said that she be- 
lieved she had exhausted her stock, and 
that they reminded her of hungry little 
birds with their mouths open for food. 

"A canary-school must be funny," said 
Malcolm ; " I should like to go to one. I 
don't see, though, how any one can teach a 
bird to sing." 

"This is quite a business," replied Miss 
Harson, "and there are different ways of 
doing it. In France and Holland regular 
societies are formed to educate chaffinches 
and get up vocal contests. The birds are 
placed in their cages, a few yards from 
each other ; then one of them begins his 
strain, which is replied to by another, the 
audience being ordered to keep perfectly 
quiet, lest the bird's attention should be 
distracted by their remarks or applause. 
The contest is kept up as long as the birds 
will continue to sing, and the one that has 
the last word is pronounced the victor. 
But much cruelty is practiced here, as 



L 



104 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS, 

well as elsewhere, to produce a perfect 
singer." 

"Why are people so cruel to birds ?" 
asked Malcolm. " It seems to me that in 
one way and another they are always being 
treated badly." 

"I am sorry to say," replied his govern- 
ess, " that it is for the very reason that 
should make us particularly kind to them 
— their helplessness and inoffensiveness. 
We do not read that people are cruel to 
beasts of prey and noxious serpents — 
creatures that can protect themselves — but 
to insects and birds and helpless things gen- 
erally. The dear little birds, too, are in 
many respects our best friends in the ani- 
mal kingdom, cheering us with their songs 
and clearing our gardens of destructive 
insects ; and to give them the little care 
and kindness that they require seems but 
common gratitude. If men only remem- 
bered that God made and cared for the 
birds, they might treat the little things 
more tenderly." 

" Do canary-birds have to be taught to 
sing," asked Clara, "just as people do?" 



THE CANARY-BIRD. 105 

" Not just as people do, dear/' was the re- 
ply, " but the canary's song is said to be in 
a great measure artificial, because so much 
pains are always taken to make it sing. 
One of these birds will sometimes live in 
a family for several months without uttering 
a single note, while every one that comes 
near its cage pipes to it, whistles to it, 
chirps and ' peeps,' until some fine morn- 
ing it will burst forth into a song which it has 
finally learned.'' 

" That is the way Black-crest did," said 
Clara. " Don't you remember, Miss Har- 
son, how surprised we all were, one day 
when Malcolm had been whistling to him, 
to hear him sing?" 

Miss Harson remembered perfectly, and 
thought that Black- crest would probably 
have remained silent all his life if no one 
ha.d tried to make him use his powers. 

The children soon went off to bed, very 
much pleased with what they had learned 
of canaries. 



CHAPTER IX. 

A DEAR LITTLE BIRD: THE LINNET. 

I WONDER what bird we shall hear 
about this evening?" said Clara as 
Miss Harson opened one of their favorite 
books. 

"This is to be our first visitor ;" and their 
governess showed them a beautifully-formed 
little bird scarcely more than five inches 
long. " Let me introduce Miss Linnet 
Fringilla, who may be described in few 
words as ' a perfect darling/ She has a 
rusty-brown back mottled with gray and 
white below, and is red and reddish- white 
on the sides of the breast. You will see, 
too, that she has a black forked tail, the 
feathers being edged with reddish-white. 

"This is a famous cage-bird in both 
England and Germany. It is found in a 
wild state all over Europe. In summer it 

106 



THE LINNET. \OJ 

lives in the woods and groves, but in the 
autumn it prefers the open fields where 
seeds are plentiful. In winter it travels 
about from place to place in search of 




THE LINNET (Fringilla cannabini). 

food ; so that at that season it may be 
called a feathered tramp. 

" The linnet delights in all kinds of seeds, 
and it is thought that it gets its name from 
its fondness for the seeds of the flax-plant 
— Linum usitatissimum, from which our 
word * linen ' comes. ' They are usually 
seen in flocks feeding upon small seeds, 



IC8 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

particularly those of the cruciform plants, 
with other seeds of the flax, thistle and 
dandelion/ 

"The plumage of this bird varies so 
much at different seasons and ages that it 
is called brown, gray and rose linnet ; also 
whin linnet, the greater redpole and the 
lintie, the last name belonging to it espe- 
cially in Scotland. A Scotch poet says : 

" ' I wald na gie the lintie's sang — 

Sae merry on the broomy lea — - 
For a' the notes that ever rang 

From a' the harps o' minstrelsie. 
Mair dear to me, where buss or breer 

Amang the pathless heather grows, 
The lintie's wild sweet note to hear, 

As on the ev'ning breeze it flows.' " 

"I like lintie best," said little Edith. 

"Is a rose linnet pink, Miss Harson?" 
asked Malcolm. 

"No," replied his governess, "though it 
should be, I think, to deserve the name. 
The rose linnet is of a beautiful red on the 
head and breast ; but caged birds and the 
female linnets do not have this gay plum- 
age, being of a decidedly gray tinge. 

"The linnet's song is very clear and 



i 



THE LINNET. 



IO9 



sweet, and there are certain notes in it — 
called 'the linnet's crow' — which occur 
most frequently in the best singers. It is 




THE flax-plant (Linum usitatissimum). 

said that if, when taken from the nest, it is 
fed on a mixture of soaked bread-crumbs, 
rape-seed and hard-boiled egg, it can be 
taught not only the songs of other birds — 



HO BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

the nightingale, chaffinch, lark, etc. — but 
also to repeat various airs and melodies 
if constantly whistled in its hearing. It has 
even been known to learn to talk, adds the 
same authority, though not very distinctly." 

" How funny it would be," exclaimed 
Clara, " if all the birds and animals should 
talk like people !" 

" A young linnet, our writer continues, 
can be taught to sing exactly like a night- 
ingale ; and he speaks of the pleasure of 
hearing the docile little bird trill forth the 
nightingale's song at a season of the year 
when the nightingales are silent. 'The 
linnet,' says another admirer, 'gives place 
to few birds in point of song. His tone is 
mellow and his notes sprightly, artfully 
varying into the plaintive strain, and re- 
turning again to the sprightly with the 
greatest address and most masterly exe- 
cution.' But, after all, the song of free 
linnets must be pleasanter to those who 
are not willing to deprive these dear little 
birds of the liberty which God gave them. 

" In winter these little roamers are seen 
in immense flocks that seem to have come 



THE LINNET. Ill 

together from various parts of the country. 
In spring they will assemble in the warm 
sunshine, lighting on some large tree, when 
all chirp in concert, as if to celebrate the 
breaking up of winter and their settling in 
their summer home. This home is always 
made in dry, barren grounds where there 
is plenty of heath, furze and other low 
bushes. 

"Linnets are very gentle little creatures 
and easily tamed ; they may even be taught 
to fly in and out of a window ; but great 
care is necessary in their training, as they 
are peculiarly shy. It is not easy to catch 
the wild ones, but they are sometimes taken 
in autumn with limed twi^s and nooses set 
among the lettuces, of which vegetables 
they are very fond. The shepherds also 
arrange the salt-troughs for the sheep in 
such a manner as to entrap the linnets, 
which come to pick up the scattered saline 
grains. 

" These birds like to build their nests in 
close, low bushes, choosing garden-bushes, 
hedges or low, bushy trees. The nest is 
'formed on the outside of dry stubble 



112 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

mixed with hay. The middle coat is formed 
of finer hay mixed with hair, very firmly 
and neatly plaited together. The inner 
coat, or lining, consists of hair, wool and 
the down of the seeds of willows, over 
which is a layer of fine fibres of roots. 
The whole is a neat piece of work, round, 
well finished and very handsome/ 

" Twice a year there are five or six blu- 
ish-white eggs marked with flesh-colored 
and brown spots in the linnet's nest, and 
the affection of the parent-birds for their 
young is very strong. A nest that had 
four scarcely-fledged young ones in it was 
found by some children, who carried it 
home to rear the little birds. But their 
constant chirping soon brought Papa and 
Mamma Linnet on hasty wing to the 
scene ; and the two birds fluttered around 
the children all the way to the house, when 
the nest was carried up to the nursery 
and placed outside the window." 

"What cruel children, not to give the 
little birdies back !" exclaimed Clara. 

"They ought never to have taken the 
nest/' said Malcolm. 



THE LINNET. 113 

Edith, too, expressed her sympathy for 
the kidnapped birds, and it gave Miss Har- 
son great pleasure to find that her young 
charges always condemned such acts of 
thoughtless cruelty. 

"The little linnets were well taken care 
of," continued the governess, " for the old 
birds soon appeared at the window and fed 
their family without seeming at all disturbed 
by the people who were watching them. 
The experiment was then tried of placing 
the nest on a table in the middle of the 
room and leaving the window open. It 
was very interesting to see the parents 
fly boldly into the room and feed the little 
ones as before. Finally, the nest was put 
into a bird-cage, to try them still farther; 
but the linnets returned, hopped into the 
cage and fed their brood as usual, actually 
perching on the cage toward evening with- 
out minding the noise of several children 
who were playing around. 

" This went on for several days, when, 
alas ! an unfortunate accident put an end 
to the pretty sight. The cage had been 
again put on the outside of the window, 



1 14 BIRDS AND THEIR WA YS. 

but a sudden and heavy fall of rain came 
down and drowned the little birdies in their 
nest. The poor linnets who had so faith- 
fully fed their young ones in their captivity 
came as usual and looked wistfully in at 
the window without seeing the four little 
open mouths. They hovered about the 
house for several days, but finally disap- 
peared/' 

" What a pity !" cried the children. 
" Poor little birds !" 

"Miss Harson," asked Edith, timidly, 
after what she considered an ominous 
silence, " isn't there more about linnets? 
They are such lovely little birds f" 

" Not very much, dear," was the reply, 
" but I will tell you what there is. Linnets 
are said to be very affectionate to those 
who feed and attend them, and we have 
just seen how devoted they are to their lit- 
tle ones, braving all sorts of dangers to 
minister to their wants. It seems, too, 
that they are capable of strong attach- 
ments among themselves, and some one 
tells of two male linnets that became per- 
fectly devoted to each other, although they 



THE LINNET. 1 1 5 

had not been brought up together. When 
one sang the other joined in, and at night 
each always slept on that side of his cage 
which was nearest to his friend. Their at- 
tachment was more fully ascertained when 
they were set at liberty while their cages 
were being cleaned. They then flew to 
each other's cage, and at length were occa- 
sionally indulged by being put together in 
the same cage, when they always expressed 
their high gratification by fluttering toward 
each other, joining their bills and each in 
turn gently pecking the tongue of his 
friend. After some time one was suffered 
to fly abroad in the open air, whilst the 
cage of the other was hung on the outside 
of the window as a pledge for the return 
of his friend. When at liberty they ap- 
peared greatly delighted with the company 
of the wild linnets, with whom they would 
range for several hours together ; but the 
temptation of even love and liberty could 
not induce this little Damon and Pythias 
to forsake each other. As soon as the 
hour of rest approached the wanderer al- 
ways returned to the empty cage, which 



Il6 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

was placed by the side of that of his 
friend." 

" What does ' Damon and Pythias ' mean ?" 
asked Malcolm. 

" Damon and Pythias were two Greek 
friends who were so strongly attached to 
each other that each was ready to die for 
the other ; so, when a very unusual degree 
of friendship is to be implied, the persons 
referred to are spoken of as Damon and 
Pythias." 

Little Edith made the others laugh by 
inquiring if she and Clara were not Damon 
and Pythias. Their governess said, as she 
kissed the rosy cheeks of each sister, 

" We have wandered a long way from 
linnets, I think, and it is quite time that my 
little birdies were snugly tucked up in their 
nests." 



CHAPTER X. 

ALMOST A CANARY, 

WHILE we are on the subject of 
finches," said Miss Harson, " we 
must not pass by the British goldfinch — a 
particularly interesting bird ; and there is 
much more to be said of him than of his 
American cousin." 

" It's such a pretty picture," said the chil- 
dren, " that we hope there is a great deal 
to tell us about him." 

" He is a thoroughly English bird," con- 
tinued their governess, " and particularly 
an English cage-bird. You see how much 
he looks like a canary ; they might almost 
be taken for twin-brothers. The goldfinch, 
however, is nearly six inches long ; so that 
it is rather larger than the canary. Its 
plumage, too, is darker, and it has been 
said to have the most beautiful dress of 

117 



1 1 8 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

any of the British birds. And, what is un- 
common with birds of fine feathers, it is 
also one of the best singers of the English 
groves. It has been described as wearing 
a fanciful livery of nicely-shaded buff and 
brown, melting away into white on the un- 
der-parts and edged with glossy black or- 
namented here and there with gold and 
crimson. 

" The goldfinch is found all over Europe, 
and throughout the summer frequents gar- 
dens, groves and such mountainous dis- 
tricts as are not altogether uncultivated. 
It is not a bird of passage, but in autumn 
flocks of at most from fifteen to twenty 
collect and make excursions in search of 
thistledown, forsaking districts where the 
snow is thick upon the ground for others 
where the weather is more genial. 

" It is often called the thistle-finch, on ac- 
count of its fondness for the seeds of this 
class of plants, which the farmer would find 
much more troublesome were it not for the 
industry of this bright little bird. Some 
one who has watched a flock of them at 
work on an autumn day says : 'How curi- 



ALMOST A CANARY. II9 

ously they hang on the prickly stems and 
leaves ! With what adroitness do they 
thrust their bills into the heart of the in- 
volucres ! and how little do they regard us 
as they ply their pleasant pursuit uncon- 
scious of danger and piping their mellow 
call-notes V 

" Being handsome and lively, as well as 
a sweet singer, the goldfinch is in great 
request as a cage-bird ; but a poet says 
feelingly, 

" * I love to see the little goldfinch pluck 

The groundsel's feathered seed, and twit and twit, 
And then, in bower of apple-blossoms perched, 
Trim his gay suit and pay us with a song .* 
I would not hold him prisoner for the world.' 

" Besides several intricate twittering notes 
its song consists of certain tones which re- 
semble those of a harp ; and it is valued in 
proportion to the number of times the syl- 
lable 'Fink!' recurs. The goldfinch may 
also be taught to whistle certain airs and 
to repeat the song of other birds ; but in 
this respect it does not equal the linnet and 
the canary. It can be taught, however, to 
do wonderful things, such as discharging a 



120 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

small cannon and pretending to be dead, 
also drawing up its food and water by 
means of a curious arrangement. This 
consists of a band of soft leather in which 
are bored four holes, and through these 
holes the feet and the wings of the bird 
are put, the ends being joined to a ring'on 
its belly. To this ring is attached a small 
chain fastened at the other end to the seed- 
and-water vessel. " 

" I shouldn't think the little bird would 
like that one bit," said Edith, quite indig- 
nantly. 

■" I have no doubt it would prefer being 
free, but its wishes are not consulted. 
When the bird is hungry, it pulls the chain 
up a little way with its beak, puts its foot 
on it to retain the length already gained, 
then pulls again, and so continues until it 
can get at the food and drink. Some 
cages are so contrived that when the bird 
takes a seed from the box it is obliged at 
the same time to ring a bell. 

"Another goldfinch was chained to a 
perch instead of being kept in a cage. Its 
food was put into a box resembling a water- 



ALMOST A CANARY. 121 

fountain used for cages, and the little open- 
ing at which the bird was fed had a cover 
loaded with lead to make it fall. With its 
bill the bird raised this by pushing down a 
lever or handle which raised the lid of the 
box, after which, by putting its foot on the 
lever, it could feed at leisure. 

"A redpole — a species of linnet — was 
chained on a similar perch in the same 
room ; this bird fed himself from an open 
box without having to work for his food 
like his neighbor the goldfinch. He had 
evidently watched the whole proceeding, 
though, and saw that by touching the 
handle he could get at the goldfinch's food, 
if it was within reach ; and this he kept in 
mind until he could make use of his in- 
formation. One morning, having been let 
loose, and his own seed-box being empty, 
he flew at once to the perch of his friend, 
raised the lid of the seed-box w T ith his bill, 
and then, laying hold of it with one foot, 
kept it open till he had made a good break- 
fast." 

" How surprised the goldfinch must have 
been !" said Clara ; and the children all 



122 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

laughed, being much amused over the red- 
pole's exploit. 

Malcolm " guessed that he was more 
surprised than pleased," and Miss Harson 
thought that this was probably the case. 

"The goldfinch," continued the govern- 
ess, " excels as a nest-builder. A British 
writer says : ' It builds one of the most 
elegant nests that our English finches pro- 
duce. Moss, lichens, wool and grass artis- 
tically intertwined form the outside of the 
fabric, which is generally hidden in a quiet 
orchard or secluded garden, where, in the 
midst of some evergreen — an arbutus, per- 
chance — it is protected from the prying eye 
by the compact leafy screen of the well- 
grown, healthy shrub. The delicate down 
of the willows or dwarf early-seeding plants, 
the choicest lambs' wool and the finest hair 
form the warm lining in which the bluish- 
white eggs dotted with a few rich brown 
spots are deposited.' 

" But what do you think of two little 
goldfinches actually tying their nest fast to 
make it secure? for this is what they really 
did. The pair had built their nest on a 



ALMOST A CANARY, 1 23 

small branch of an olive tree ; after hatch- 
ing their brood, the parents saw that the 
weight of the growing family would soon 
be too great for the strength of the branch 
which supported the nest, for it was even 
then beginning to give way. Something 
must be done to prevent the nest from fall- 
ing to the ground, and presently they were 
seen to pick up a small string and with it 
fasten the bending twig to a stronger and 
higher branch of the tree. In this way the 
little nest was saved." 

"Why don't we see birds do things, Miss 
Harson ?" asked Malcolm, who began to 
think that there was a great deal of fun 
going on with which he had nothing to 
do. 

"We do not have the opportunities/' 
was the reply. " These accounts are gen- 
erally written by naturalists, who make the 
creatures of which they write a constant 
study. A great deal may be learned, 
though, by any one who will keep eyes 
and ears open — that is, be ready to ob- 
serve everything that goes on around him; 
and I think we must form ourselves into a 



124 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

society of this kind and see how much we 
can learn every day." 

The children were delighted with this 
idea, and at first there seemed to be dan- 
ger of their forgetting the little goldfinches. 
But as soon as Miss Harson spoke of an- 
other nest they were all attention again. 

"Another pair," said she, "happened to 
build in the garden of a naturalist who was 
fond of observing the manners and habits 
of birds. They had, as usual, formed the 
groundwork with moss and dried grass, 
but on his scattering small pieces of wool 
they in a great measure left off the use of 
the first materials and employed the wool. 
He next provided them with cotton, which 
they immediately collected ; the third day 
he supplied them with down, on which they 
forsook both the others and finished their 
work with it. Is it not wonderful that these 
little creatures are so well taught by their 
Creator ? 

"An African traveler mentions some sin- 
gular nests built by birds which he describes 
as goldfinches. The account of the nests 
is very curious, and illustrates the social 



ALMOST A CANARY. 1 25 

manners of a set of little birds like breth- 
ren dwelling together in unity. 'A tree a 
little distance from our wagon/ says the 
traveler, ' had two remarkable nests in it. 
The one was about four yards in circumfer- 
ence, and the other three, and about a yard 
in depth. They were built of coarse grass. 
One of these nests had seventeen holes in 
the bottom, by which the birds enter; the 
other had seven, At one time I saw about 
a hundred birds come out of them. Instead 
of being the nest of a single pair, they 
seemed to be towns of birds or the prop- 
erty of a single pair, in which they accom- 
modate all their descendants. A horned- 
owl had taken possession of the outside 
of the roof of the largest for a nest. The 
whole was neatly thatched and had a hol- 
low in the middle to contain the owl, but 
no passage leading to the inside/ I should 
call this nest/' added Miss Harson, "a sort 
of 'French flat' among birds ;" and her lit- 
tle scholars thought the name a very good 
one. 

"It is astonishing," continued the gov- 
erness, "to read how quickly little nests 



126 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

are often built when there is occasion for 
haste. A canary was seen to begin her 
labor about five o'clock in the morning, 
and she worked so hard that before seven 
it was entirely finished. She had often 
been disturbed in her work before on ac- 
count of building in inconvenient places, 
and this was probably, the reason why she 
hurried so with this nest — to get it done 
before people would see and interfere with 
her. Here are some pretty lines: 



' The goldfinch weaves, with willow- down inlaid, 
And cannach-tufts, his wonderful abode. 
Sometimes, suspended at the limber end 
Of plane-tree spray, among the broad-leaved shoots, 
The tiny hammock swings to every gale; 
Sometimes in closest thickets 'tis concealed ; 
Sometimes in hedge luxuriant, where the brier, 
The bramble and the plum-tree branch 
Warp through the thorn, surrounded by the flowers 
Of climbing vetch and honeysuckle wild, 
All undefaced by Art's deforming hand. 
But mark the pretty bird himself! How light 
And quick his every motion, every note ! 
How beautiful his plumes, his red-tinged head, 
His breast of brown ! And see him stretch his wing : 
A fairy fan of golden spokes it seems. 
Oft on the thistle's tuft he nibbling sits, 
Tight as the down ; then 'mid a flight of downs 
He wings his way, piping his shrillest call.' " 



CHAPTER XL 

THE BULLFINCH. 

ISN'T he cunning," exclaimed the chil- 
dren, "with his great big round eye 
that looks like a button, and a worm in his 
mouth ! He is so fat and funny, and has 
such a short little nose !" 

" ' Bill/ you mean," said Miss Harson. 
The children were commenting on a por- 
trait of the bullfinch. " He is something 
of a dumpling in shape, being just the 
length of a chaffinch, but much larger 
around. His plumage is beautifully col- 
ored — the throat, back and shoulders, dark 
gray ; the lower end, white ; the breast and 
upper part of the belly , a rich crimson. 
He has a steel-blue tail which shines with 
a black lustre and is slightly forked. The 
caged bullfinches vary in color, being some- 
times white with a few dark spots on the 

127 



128 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

back, and sometimes black. Sometimes 
they are speckled, and sometimes the 
plumage is partly like that of a canary 
and partly like that of a bullfinch: ,, 

"I 'should think, then," said Malcolm, 
" that it would be very hard to know a 
bullfinch from other birds." 

" It cannot be very easy," was the reply, 
"for those not accustomed to them; but 
they have many distinguishing traits be- 
sides plumage. The bird is found all over 
Europe — as far north as Sweden and Rus- 
sia. In Germany it is seen in pairs in all 
woody districts. In winter it migrates in 
search of berries. In England it is called 
1 pick-a-bud,' because of its mischievous 
fondness for the blossom-buds of fruit. 
Trees are frequently whitewashed to keep 
them away, but the defence does not last 
long. 

" Gooseberry-bushes are very tenderly 
watched in England, and Master Bullfinch 
is too good a Briton not to be fond of them. 
Some one tells of his struggles to keep his 
bushes from the dangerous bill of this little 
marauder, and his delight at finding that a 



THE BULLFINCH, 



129 




THE BULLFINCH {Pyrrhula vulgaris). 

straw rope wound about them kept the bird 
away. But it took the bullfinches only a 
year to find out that straw ropes would not 
hurt them, and then they feasted on goose- 
berry-buds to their hearts' content. 

" Friends of the bullfinch say that most 
of the fruit-buds which they destroy have 
at the core a worm which would prevent 
its yielding fruit if left, and that the bird 
takes the bud for the sake of the insect, 
but gardeners seem to prefer the chance 
of the worms to the certainty of the birds. 
9 



130 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" The bullfinch very carelessly builds its 
nest of twigs, lining it with moss and con- 
cealing it as much as possible in fir trees or 
hedges. Sometimes there are two, some- 
times six, eggs of a bluish white, with a 
circle of violet and brown spots at the 
larger end. 

" This bird is easily caught, and is from 
the first very tame and affectionate. It can 
be taught to whistle many airs and songs 
in a soft, pure, flute-like tone. ' Bullfinches 
are usually very tame, sit at command, make 
many very elegant gestures, moving now 
the body and now the tail to the right and 
left, and spreading out the latter like a 
fan/ 

"And now/' said the governess, u what 
do you think of a seminary of bullfinches ?" 

The children, of course, thought it very 
funny, and were anxious to hear all about it. 

" i No school/ we are told, ' can be more 
diligently superintended by its master, and 
no scholars more effectually trained to their 
own calling, than a seminary of bullfinches. 
They are formed first into classes of about 
six in each, and after having been kept a 



THE BULLFINCH. 131 

longer time than usual without food and 
confined in a dark room, the tune they are 
to learn is played over and over again on 
a little instrument called a bird-organ, the 
notes of which resemble as nearly as pos- 
sible those of the bullfinch. For a time, 
perhaps, the moping birds will sit in silence, 
not knowing what to make of these pro- 
ceedings ; but after a while they will one 
by one begin to imitate the notes they 
hear. As soon as they do this light is ad- 
mitted into the room, and they are allowed 
a small supply of food. By degrees the 
sound of the organ and the circumstance 
of being fed become so associated that the 
hungry bird is sure to imitate the notes as 
soon as it hears them. They are then 
turned over to the care of boys whose sole 
business it is to go on with their education, 
each boy having a separate bird placed un- 
der his charge, and he plays away from 
morning till night — at least, for as many 
hours as the birds can pay attention, during 
which time their first teacher, or feeder, 
goes his regular rounds, scolding or re- 
warding his feathered scholars by signs and 



132 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

modes which he has taught them to under- 
stand till they become so perfect, and the 
tune so imprinted on their memory, that 
they will pipe it for the remainder of their 
lives. But, though the greater number 
may be taught their tune, few only— not 
above five in a hundred, possibly — can be 
so correctly taught as to pipe in perfect 
harmony ; and these, of course, bring a 
much higher price than the rest/ 

" It is said that singing and satisfaction 
generally go together in bullfinches, and 
that a bird attached to any particular indi- 
viduals in a family will always express de- 
light when they approach, and will greet 
them with his well-known air, hopping to- 
ward them on his perch and practicing all 
his little coquettish ways. A great musi- 
cian once owned a piping bullfinch which 
he had taught to sing * God Save the King !' 
But he was obliged to leave it for a while 
and go abroad, giving his favorite into the 
charge of his sister with strict injunctions 
to take the greatest care of it. On his re- 
turn one of his first thoughts was his pet 
bullfinch ; but he was told that the poor 



THE BULLFINCH. 1 33 

little bird had not been well for a long 
time, and was now very ill. Full of sor- 
row, he went to the room where the cage 
was.kept, and, opening the door, put in his 
hand and spoke to the bird. The little 
creature remembered his voice, unclosed 
its eyes, shook its feathers, staggered up, 
climbed on his finger, piped ' God Save the 
King !' and fell dead." 

" How very sad !" sighed Clara ; while 
Malcolm said that it seemed as if the 
nicest birds were always dying. 

•'That is the great trouble with pets," 
replied Miss Harson : " they so often die 
when we have become much attached to 
them ; but this never seems to prevent 
people from trying to keep them. The 
bullfinch has long been a popular pet be- 
cause of his endearing little ways and his 
extreme niceness. Indeed, he is quite a 
dandy, and employs much of his time in 
keeping his plumage in order. 

"A lover of bullfinches says : ' There are 
hardly any birds that may be more tame 
than these ; and the delight with which 
they puff out their feathers, and sidle and 



134 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

bow and stand up tall, when spoken to, is 
something charming — too amusing almost, 
sometimes, one wastes so much time talk- 
ing to them. Poor little Bullie ! with her 
brown satin dress and her velvet head- 
dress, she does sing such a song ! It is 
very low and extremely long. I wish I 
could add " musical,'' but that certainly is 
not its most striking feature. Still, Bullie 
is an affectionate little bird ; and if her 
song is very dull and small, we cannot find 
fault with anything while she is evidently 
doing her best to please us, leaving her 
seed at any time for the pleasure of talk- 
ing to us. Very tame, too, is she, not to 
say familiar ; solitude is her greatest griev- 
ance, and she is heard complaining loudly 
if even for a moment she is condemned to 
her own society/ 

"This interesting little bird, it seems," 
continued Miss Harson, "had to be ban- 
ished for a while from her mistress's room 
— from sickness, perhaps, or some other 
cause — and it was supposed that she would 
be quite happy in the society of other birds. 
The first day or two of her banishment she 






THE BULLFINCH. 1 35 

cried a great deal ; then she refused to eat, 
and she died within a week." 

" Do the little bullfinches always die?" 
asked Edith, who did not like this constant 
dropping off of birds. 

" Not before their time, dear," was the re- 
ply; " but captivity is an unnatural state 
for anything so free as a bird that has only 
to spread its wings to soar through space, 
and for this reason caged birds are liable to 
pine away and die." 

" Do you think, Miss Harson," asked 
Clara, after a pause, " that I ought to let 
Black-crest fly away to the woods ?" 

" No, Clara ; your canary was born in a 
cage, and he would not know what to do 
with himself if you set him at liberty. Very 
possibly he might starve, as he is accustomed 
to have his food provided for him ; or he 
would be quite likely, after a short flight, 
to return again to his cage, as he does now 
when he is set at liberty in the room. But 
it is a shame to take the happy little creat- 
ures flying about in the full enjoyment of 
their powers and shut them in a cage 
merely for our amusement." 



CHAPTER XII. 

A QUEER CHARACTER : THE STARLING, 

" T yl 7E have now done with the Frin- 
V V gilfa family,' , said Miss Harson, 
" and will next take up some well-known 
birds that belong to different species. Here 
is a picture of the stare, or starling— a bird 
about which we often read, and of which 
many curious things are written." 

" He looks as speckled as a guinea-hen, " 
said Malcolm. 

"The feathers all seem to be in little 
light-edged waves," continued the govern- 
ess, "and the description says that the 
whole body is blackish, with a bright pur- 
ple tinge halfway down the back and breast, 
with a green lustre on the rest of the body. 
The pin- and tail-feathers are black speckled 
with gray ; so that the bird has a generally 
speckled appearance. 

136 



THE STARLING. 



137 



" ' The starling is found in all parts of 
the Old World; it frequents woods and 
thickets which are at no great distance 
from meadows and ploughed fields.* In 
October it departs southward in large 
flocks, and does not return till the begin- 




the starling (Sturnus vulgaris). 

ning of March. In its migration it takes 
shelter by night among reeds and bull- 
rushes, from which its shrill cry may often 

* Our " meadow-lark " is an American representative of this 
family. 



I38 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

be heard to proceed/ The chief food of 
this bird is the small meadow grasshopper, 
but it does not disdain caterpillars, snails 
and many other insects, and will help itself 
to grapes, cherries, berries and grain of all 
kinds. In confinement it may be fed on 
anything which is not sour. 

" The starling's nest is as carelessly built 
as that of the bullfinch ; it is composed of 
dry leaves, grass, stalks and feathers. It is 
occupied by the same pair year after year, 
but they go through with a regular house- 
cleaning before they take possession after 
their winter absence. These birds will 
build in hollow trees, in dovecotes, under 
the roofs of houses and in wooden boxes 
and earthen vessels, which are often hung 
on trees for their accommodation. There 
are usually seven greenish-gray eggs: 

"Some one writes of 'our friend the 
starling :' ' Close before the window of 
our scene of observation a well-mown, 
short-grassed lawn is spread before him : 
it is his dining-room. There, in the spring, 
he is allowed to revel, but seldom molested, 
on the plentiful supply of worms. Close 



THE STARLING. 1 39 

at hand, within half a stone's throw, stands 
an ivy-mantled parish church with its mossy 
gray tower, from the turreted pinnacle of 
which rises a tall staff crowned by its weath- 
ercock ; under the eaves and within the 
hollows and chinks of the masonry of this 
tower are his nursery-establishments. On 
the battlements and projecting tracery of 
its Gothic ornaments he retires to enjoy 
himself, looking down on the rural world 
below ; while at other times a still more 
elevated party will crowd together on the 
letters of the weathercock, or, accustomed 
to its motion, sociably twitter away their 
chattering song as the vane creaks slowly 
round with every change of wind/ 

"The starling is a bright, happy little 
bird, very fond of society and a great chat- 
terer. Its notes so much resemble some 
of the tones of the human voice that when 
near it is hard to believe that it is not some 
unseen acquaintance who is speaking. It 
becomes very tame in captivity, and is as 
docile and sagacious as a dog. * It is al- 
ways lively, understands and obeys every 
gesture and motion of those with whom it 



I4-0 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

lives, and, though tottering about with a 
sober step and a stupid appearance, allows 
nothing to escape its notice/ 

"It learns to repeat words, to whistle airs 
and to imitate the voices of men and ani- 
mals and the song of birds. But what the 
starling does one day it is not at all sure 
of doing the next day, as it not only for- 
gets what it has learned, but mixes up old 
and new lessons. There are some excep- 
tions, however, and there will sometimes 
be found a starling that can utter its own 
harplike song in the midst of the other oc- 
cupants of an aviary. It can be taught to 
imitate our speech. Its style of pronoun- 
cing words, if the bird be carefully educated, 
is said to be far more like human utterance 
than is the * talking ' of the parrot. Some 
one mentions a starling that had been 
taught by a hair-dresser to repeat with 
wonderful correctness the words, ' Get up, 
sir!' 'The tone of voice was husky and 
whispering, and the first time we heard it, 
from the bird hanging in a dark corner of 
the shop, we could not imagine whence the 
words proceeded, and were led to fancy it 



THE STARLING. 141 

might be some idiot boy repeating, as is 
common in such cases, his favorite phrase ; 
but no sooner did we learn the truth than 
the correctness of the execution became a 
matter of comparison and of wonder. 

" ' We went one morning with a friend/ 
says another, ' to see a collection of birds 
belonging to a gentleman in Edinburgh ; 
and among these were some very fine star- 
lings — one, in particular, which cost five 
guineas. Breakfast was ready before we 
entered the room. When the bird was 
produced it flew to its master's hand and 
distinctly pronounced, " Good-morning, sir ! 
Breakfast ! breakfast !" It afterward hopped 
to the table, examined every one of the cups, 
and while thus employed occasionally re- 
peated, "Breakfast ! breakfast! Bread and 
butter for Jack! Pretty Jack! pretty Jack!'"" 

The children's exclamations of wonder 
and delight were continuous ; and little 
Edith had quite decided to " ask papa for 
a starling." 

Miss Harson smiled as she continued : 

" There was another starling, that be- 
longed to a shopkeeper ; and when any 



142 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

one entered the shop he would say, ■ Come 
in, sir, and take a seat. — George, send for 
a coach-and-six for pretty Charlie. Be 
clever, George : I want it immediately/ He 
would also utter many similar sentences. A 
naturalist was one day talking to a man on 
business ; and after the speaker had de- 
scribed at some length his plan of proceed- 
ing, a voice near by very clearly pronounced 
the words, 'A thing impossible !' ' Do you 
hear my impertinent bird ?' said he ; upon 
which the little creature repeated its speech. 

" The starling is really a cousin of our 
blackbird, and is distantly related to the 
Corvus family. It has many traits in com- 
mon with the rooks, jackdaws, etc., with 
which it associates in large flocks. It is a 
more handsome bird, though, than any of 
the species, and its beautiful glossy coat 
has been compared to a mantle of shot 
silk garnished with pearls. 

"The starlings fly in troops, and during 
their flight gather into a kind of ring or 
ball, every individual bird seeming to try 
to get in the middle. It is no joke to the 
owner to have one of these troops descend 



THE STARLING. 1 43 

upon a cherry-orchard ; for if not fright- 
ened away in season, they will take the 
whole crop. 

"A close observer of these birds says 
that there is something singularly curious 
and mysterious in the conduct of starlings 
previous to their nightly retirement ; and 
he gives an account of what he saw one 
evening while watching them : ' About an 
hour before sunset little flocks of twenty 
or fifty kept gradually dropping in, their 
numbers increasing as daylight waned, till 
one vast flight was formed amounting to 
thousands, if not almost to millions. Noth- 
ing could be more interesting or beautiful 
than to witness their graceful evolutions. 
At first they might be seen advancing high 
in the air like a dark cloud, which in an in- 
stant, as if by magic, became almost invis- 
ible, the whole body, by some mysterious 
watchword or signal, changing their course 
and presenting their wings to view side- 
ways, instead of exposing, as before, their 
full-expanded spread. Again, in another 
moment the cloud might be seen descend- 
ing in a graceful sweep, so as almost to 



144 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

brush the earth as they glanced along. 
Then once more they were seen spiring in 
wide circles on high, till at length, with one 
simultaneous rush, down they glided with a 
roaring noise of wing, till the vast mass 
buried itself, unseen but not unheard, 
amidst a bed of reeds projecting from a 
bank near the wood. For no sooner were 
they perched than every throat seemed to 
open itself, forming one incessant confusion 
of tongues.' " 

" Isn't there something more about star- 
lings, Miss Harson ?" asked the children, 
who appeared intensely to enjoy the sub- 
ject. 

" I can tell you something about their 
funny ways when they are building their 
nests," was the reply. "After a regular 
account of the starlings' doings from their 
first appearance in February, the naturalist 
who has already given us a great deal of 
information goes on to say that by the mid- 
dle or last of March detachments of them 
may be seen prowling busily over the roof, 
cautiously creeping in and out from under 
the projecting eaves ; and by the end of 



THE STARLING. 145 

the month the regular establishment, amount- 
ing to about thirty, has assembled, and the 
grand work of the year fairly commences. 
" From this time all is bustle. Straws 
and nest-furniture are seen flying through 
the air in beaks that contrive, nevertheless, 
to announce their comings and goings by 
particular harsh or low muttering cries, ac- 
cording as they think they are watched or 
not. They are cunning birds, and discover 
in an instant w 7 hether a passer-by has an 
eye to their movements, perfectly aware 
whether he is following his own business 
or theirs. If he steps onward without 
troubling himself about them, they go in 
and out with perfect unconcern ; but if a 
glance of curiosity or of observation is di- 
rected to their motions, they are all upon 
the alert. The bearer of a tuft to the nest 
wheels to the right-about, and, perching on 
the naked upper twig of a small beech tree 
or the projecting point of a gable-end, sits 
there uttering a particular note which seems 
to give, as well as words can do, intimation 
to a mate to be on its guard, as a spy is at 
hand. If the weather is tolerably favor- 
10 



I46 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

able, everything goes on smoothly and 
regularly ; but — and we have in the jour- 
nal of our starlings' proceedings many 
such instances on record — should a severe 
and sudden change occur, a violent storm 
of snow or a continuance of chilling winds, 
all operations are suspended. Not only 
are the eaves and the half-built nests de- 
serted, but even the tower itself — battle- 
ments, weathercock and all — till a return 
of fine weather, when the starlings too re- 
turn, and the work again proceeds." 

The starlings were quite reluctantly giv- 
en up, but Miss Harson comforted her little 
audience with the assurance that there were 
still left many birds which they would find 
equally interesting. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE QUEEN OF SONG: THE NIGHTINGALE. 

WE shall finish our list of British 
birds," said Miss Harson, " with 
one that, being the * Queen of Song/ I 
have kept until the last." 

" I know," said Malcolm : " it is the 
nightingale." 

" Yes," continued his governess, " and 
here you see her — a gracefully-shaped little 
bird about the size of a house-sparrow; 
but, ' were it prized only for its plumage, it 
would hardly deserve a place among the 
inmates of the aviary/ The prevailing 
color of the nightingale is grayish-brown, 
the breast and all the under-parts white. 
1 It is found throughout Europe, as far 
north as the middle of Sweden ; in all 
Asia except the arctic regions of Siberia ; 
and even in Egypt, on the banks of the 

147 



I48 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

Nile. It frequents overgrown, shady and 
not very cold places, whether woods, groves, 
gardens or hedges/ 

"All over the world, it is said, from Swe- 
den to Hindustan, the nightingale's song 
is essentially the same, though some spe- 
cies are superior to others both in the per- 
fection of their song and in the quality of 
their voice. One utters its notes with a 
slow and sweet mournfulness ; the tones 
of another are peculiarly clear and sono- 
rous ; a third introduces into its song orig- 
inal passages of its own ; and a fourth sur- 
passes all the rest in the silvery quality of 
its voice. Occasionally may be found birds 
which seem to unite all these excellences, 
and these are generally from the first brood 
of the year; they have also been reared 
in some locality where nightingales have 
abounded, and have learned to unite in 
their song the characteristic beauties of 
each of their tutors. 

" On seeing the nightingale after hearing 
it sing, the listener might well exclaim, 

" * I could not think so si?iall a bird 
Could sing so sweet a song,' 



THE NIGHTINGALE. 



149 



for the strength of its notes is astonishing. 
Variety and sweetness also combine to 




THE NIGHTINGALE {Philomela hiscinia). 

form the ravishing harmony which places 
this little bird at the very head of all feath- 
ered warblers. Izaak Walton, the famous 
old angler, calls nightingales ' the chiefest 
of the little nimble musicians of the air 
that warble forth their curious ditties with 
which Nature has furnished them to the 
shame of Art/ 

" Many people suppose that the nightin- 



I50 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

gale never sings until the sun has set, and 
that he is the only songster of the night. 
He is said, however, to sing during the 
day as sweetly and powerfully as at night; 
but, owing to the general chorus of sing- 
ing-birds, his efforts are less noticed. It is 
also said that some nightingales always sing 
in the middle of the night. 

" But there are other feathered musicians 
of the night. * The wood-lark will to a 
very late hour pour forth its rich notes, 
flying in circles round the female when sit- 
ting on her nest. The sky-lark, too, may fre- 
quently be heard till near midnight high in 
the air, soaring as if in the brightness of a 
summer's morning. The warblings of a 
thrush have been heard long after dark, 
and we have been awakened at two in the 
morning by its sweet serenade.' 

" The song of the nightingale does not 
last very long — for about three months 
only — and it is not unvaryingly good even 
during that short period. When the birds 
first arrive from their southern quarters — 
for they do not spend their winters at the 
north — their song is frequent and at its 



THE NIGHTINGALE. 151 

very best ; but by the middle of summer it 
ceases altogether, and in the woods only 
the twittering of the young birds is heard 
as they try to imitate their father's song. 
Mamma Nightingale never sings at all, al- 
though the singer is always spoken of as 
' she/ In a cage the nightingale will sing 
from November till April. 

" ' Proud as they may be of their own 
skill/ says one, 'they are not insensible to 
the harmony of musical instruments. The 
German hymn, played upon a flute very 
softly, near a bush in which there was a 
nest, soon attracted the attention of the 
birds. Scarcely was the air finished than 
the cock was heard to chirp ; and when 
the tune was played a second time, it was 
seen to hop through the bushes with great 
quickness toward the place where the play- 
er stood, at the same time making a sort 
of sub-warbling, which it soon changed 
into its usual beautiful and lengthened 
song/ 

"A nightingale is roused by any musical 
sound ; but, instead of listening in silence, 
it will always strive with its rivals and try 



152 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

by every possible exertion to outsing noise 
of whatever kind. Some have even been 
known to drop dead after an overstrain of 
this sort; and of one it is related that 
whenever another cage-bird near it began 
to sing it kept up an angry twittering until 
the offender was surprised or frightened into 
silence. 

" I wish I had a nightingale/' said Mal- 
colm, " that could sing to a flute. It would 
be great fun." 

" But he'd get angry at Black-crest — 
wouldn't he, Miss Harson ? — and try to 
make him stop singing. I shouldn't like 
that." 

" I doubt very much if he would succeed," 
replied the governess, laughing, " judging 
from the strength of lung displayed by 
Master Canary when I have been talking. 
But nightingales are not to be had for the 
wishing. It must be an amusing bird to 
watch, for a description of the little warbler 
says : ' He maintains a very erect posture, 
and there is something very peculiar in his 
hopping gait. After having made a suc- 
cession of hops, he stands still, moves his 



THE NIGHTINGALE. 1 53 

wings, elevates his tail and slightly expands 
it, nods his head once or twice, and then 
hops onward again. If anything attracts 
his attention, he generally looks at it with 
only one eye ; if he catches sight of an in- 
sect, he does indeed leap quickly to the 
spot, yet does not seize it greedily like 
other birds, but stands over it a moment 
as if in consideration. He has in general a 
thoughtful air, though it must be confessed 
he easily falls into the traps and snares 
laid for him — as is the case with all birds 
that are unfamiliar with men— though, if 
one is caught, he is prudent enough for 
ever after. He has been called, with just 
cause, an inquisitive bird, because he al- 
ways hastens to examine any place on the 
ground which has been scratched up or 
disturbed. But this peculiarity — which he 
shares with other birds of the same ee- 
nus — is the result of instinct, which teaches 
him that in such situations he will find the 
insects which are his favorite food ; while, 
on the contrary, he takes no notice of 
many things which are put before him, 
however strange or peculiar they may be/ 



1 54 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" The nightingale builds its nest in groves 
or gardens, or in some thick bush or heaps 
of sticks, or even on the ground if the spot 
is surrounded with brushwood or with long 
grass. It is carelessly built, of small dry 
twigs and leaves, with an inner layer of 
grass-stalks and roots, and sometimes it 
is lined with hair. There are five or six 
greenish-brown eggs. 

"A caged nightingale," continued Miss 
Harson, " even built a nest in a little work- 
basket purposely put with it." 

" Oh," exclaimed Clara, impulsively, " how 
cunning ! I wonder if Black-crest — " 

But she stopped suddenly, for she saw 
that Malcolm was laughing at her; and 
then she remembered that nest-building 
was not to be expected of the canary 
under any circumstances. 

"The basket-nest did not flourish," add- 
ed their governess, "for Mr. Nightingale 
would not bring the little mother any- 
thing to eat while she sat on her eggs ; and 
finally she got very hungry and indignant, 
and threw the eggs out and broke them." 

"What a shame!" cried the children; 



THE NIGHTINGALE. 155 

and it seemed difficult to believe that such 
gentle-looking little birds could behave so 
badly as had this papa and mamma nightin- 
gale: 

" The nightingale/' continued Miss Har- 
son, " is not a European bird only, but it is 
found also in the far East. Among the 
roses of Persia it 

" ' on a bloomy spray 
Warbles at eve when all the woods are still, 
In russet brown bedight.' 

It is there called the ' bulbul/ and seems 
even more at home than in England. It is 
said to come and go with the roses ; and 
there is a very pretty idea among Oriental 
poets of the love of the nightingale for 
the rose. They say that 'you may place a 
hundred handfuls of fragrant herbs and 
fldwers before the nightingale, yet he 
wishes not in his constant heart for more 
than the sweet breath of his beloved rose/ 
" These birds are frequently caught by 
imitating their song. There is a story of a 
man who could do this so well that he used 
to hide hknself in a bush in a public gar- 



156 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

den in London and warble like a nightin- 
gale to draw custom. In answer to all in- 
quiries, the proprietor would say, * Hear 
'em, sir? Why, you're sure to hear 'em: 
we keeps a nightingale.' 

"The nightingale is off for a warmer 
climate as soon as the summer heats are 
past ; and a writer who has watched for his 
return to England says: 'He left us in 
August, and has been away between eight 
and nine months. What he must have seen 
and heard in his long vacation ! While the 
snow froze on my window, and his neigh- 
bor the robin sat piping on that sparkling 
bough, where was he ? Probably enjoying 
a run among the Greek isles. I have read 
of a naturalist who understood the bird- 
language : why did he not give lessons ? 
I should like to ask this nightingale a few 
questions about his travels — such as wheth- 
er he compared the dark sea streaked with 
deepest purple with our lake ; marble pil- 
lars of ruined temples on green hillsides 
with gables and porches of old Berkshire 
farms ; or dim islands — Cos and Ithaca — 
glimmering through a cloud-curtain of sil- 



THE NIGHTINGALE. I $7 

ver with our country towns just visible in 
the early dawn. Perhaps he preferred a 
town in Egypt, long a favorite winter home 
of his kindred. What food for " those 
bright eyes " in the land of sphinxes and 
of mummies ! What a stare at the pyra- 
mids and what a longing, lingering look at 
the Rosetta ! 

" ' But, O unmindful nightingale ! a broad- 
er, brighter Eye was bent over thee — the 
Eye that never slumbers nor sleeps — as 
thou screenedst thyself in the orange- 
branches. If even young ravens that call 
on our Father are fed from his hands, and 
the sparrow, sitting alone on the house-top, 
does not fall to the ground unobserved or 
uncared for, surely thou art ever seen and 
watched in the rose-gardens of the East 
and the green coppices of English woods. 
Dear pilgrim of music and beauty, I think 
thou art God's missionary, publishing abroad 
his wonders and love among the trees, most 
eloquent when the world is stillest.' " 

Miss Harson found that her little flock 
fully appreciated these beautiful thoughts 
about the nightingale's travels, and that 



158 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

they were quite prepared to listen as long- 
as she felt disposed to read. 

" Here is a little poem,'' said she, " that I 
found to-day, and thought pretty ; and this 
will end our talk about the nightingale : 

" * Prize thou the nightingale, 
Who soothes thee with his tale 
And wakes the woods around; 
A singing feather he, a winged and wandering sound, 

" ' Whose tender caroling 
Sets all ears listening 
Unto that living lyre 
Whence flow the airy notes his ecstasies inspire; 

" ' Whose shrill, capricious song 
Breathes like a flute along 
With many a careless tune — 
Music of thousand tongues formed by one tongue alone. 

" ' O charming creature rare ! 

Can aught with thee compare ? 
Thou art all song ; thy breast 
Thrills for one month of the year — is tranquil all the rest. 

" < Thee wondrous we may call : 
Most wondrous this of all — 
That such a tiny throat 
Should make so loud a sound and pour so loud a note.' " 



CHAPTER XIV. 

A BAD NAME: THE NIGHT- JAR. 

WHAT a queer mouth for a bird !" 
exclaimed Malcolm when Miss 
Harson invited her pupils to look at a 
picture of the goat-sucker or fern-owl. 
" It is all crooked, and seems to have a 
fringe around it." 

" It is certainly very wide open," was the 
reply, " and is somewhat strangely formed. 
' Such a prodigious opening as it is,' says 
a naturalist, ' with a fringe of strong bristles 
on either side of the nostrils, the use of 
which is this — that as it flies along, if a moth 
crosses the pathway of these widely-opened 
jaws, the bristles fetter the insect's wings 
and help to imprison it beyond the power 
of escape.' 

" This bird really belongs to the swallow 
tribe, though larger than a swallow, being 

159 



l6o BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

over ten inches long. Its plumage is of an 
ash-gray color spotted and barred with 
black, brown and reddish-brown, which 
gives it a curiously-mottled appearance. 
It is found in many parts of Europe 
and in warm regions, particularly in South 
America. It is known under a great many 
different names, and the strange one of 
* goat-sucker - was given to it from an old 
superstition. Ancient naturalists said that 
the bird was a night-robber who found his 
way into the goat-pens and sucked the goats, 
poisoning them so that they were made 
blind and their udders wasted away. It is 
very difficult to overcome a prejudice like 
this, but the poor goat-sucker has been 
proved to be perfectly inoffensive and not 
to deserve this name at all. ' Fern-owl ' is 
a much prettier name, and comes from the 
fact of the bird's being frequently met with 
on heather or in wild places abounding with 
fern. 

" Another of its names is * wheeler' or 
'night-jar,' and this is explained in this 
way : ' The silence of the evening or mid- 
night walk in June is occasionally broken 



THE NIGHT-JAR, 



161 



by a deep whirring noise which seemingly 
proceeds from the lower boughs of a tree, 
a hedge or paling. Having in it nothing 
of a: chirp or warble or whistle, it is unlike 
the note of a bird, or indeed any natural 
sound, but most resembles the humming of 




THE, NIGHT- JAR OR GOAT-SUCKER {Caprimulgus Europcens 



a "wheel in rapid evolution. It seems to 
proceed from different directions, as the 
bird turns its head from side to side in 
making it/ 

" In the dusk of the evening the night- 
jar may commonly be seen hawking for 
moths and beetles, after the manner of the 
11 



1 62 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

swallow tribe, only that its flight is less 
rapid and direct : 

" * The burring dor-hawk round and round is wheeling : 
That solitary bird 
Is all that can be heard 
In silence deeper far than deepest noon.' 

" Sometimes it is seen, in the bright glare 
of a summer afternoon, in company with 
swifts and swallows ; but most frequently 
it spends the day resting either on the 
ground among heath or ferns or in the 
branch of a tree, always crouching close 
down upon it. 

"An English naturalist thinks that these 
birds should be called ' moth-hawk/ because 
they feed almost entirely on those soft- 
winged insects, which they catch up in their 
flight however dark it may be. ' To human 
beings/ he says, 'who at dusk can scarcely 
trace a swift-flying moth as it glances by, 
it is inconceivable how this bird can con- 
trive to make its constant meals on such 
precarious prey. Nature, however, has 
amply provided it with never-failing means 
of feasting to its satisfaction. In the first 



THE NIGHT -JAR. 1 63 

place, its eye is large, full and clear, like 
the owl's, and so thin and transparent is the 
membrane separating it from the base of 
the upper mandible that as the bird flies, 
when in search of food, with its mouth open, 
it is thought that it is enabled thereby to 
keep a lookout forward, as well as on either 
side, through the thin, bony membrane. At 
all events, without this odd addition to great 
powers of vision, a skull more than half 
filled up with eyesight must enable the 
possessor to see more clearly in the dark 
than we can conceive possible/ 

"Another help to this bird in catching 
moths is a kind of glutinous liquid that 
comes from the upper part of the bill and 
makes it impossible for small insects to get 
away, as they are stuck as fast as with 
mucilage. A number of them can be taken 
and swallowed together in this way ; and, 
what is still stranger, they often live after 
they are swallowed. Some one who had 
shot a goat-sucker was surprised to see a 
moth come out of its mouth and fly away ; 
and the next morning, on opening the 
bird's crop, there were found several other 



164 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

moths that had lived all night in this strange 
prison and seemed glad to be released/' 

" I should say they would be !" com- 
mented Malcolm. " If I were a moth, 
Td keep clear of goat-suckers." 

"That is not so easy," was the reply, 
" as the bird seems to be made purposely 
to catch such creatures, and so to protect 
vegetation from destruction by worms and 
caterpillars. Besides its wonderful eyes 
and mouth, it has a foot specially fitted 
for grappling its game. The hind claw, 
although remarkably small, is reversible — 
that is, it can turn forward and act in con- 
cert with the other three, which is a great 
convenience in catching such nimble things 
as moths ; and, besides this, the middle 
claw is toothed, to prevent the escape of 
active prey. Is it not wonderful that such 
careful provision should be made for the 
success of a bird ? 

" Goat-suckers are said to use this toothed 
claw to carry off their eggs when disturbed, 
and some naturalists declare that they have 
seen them flying with the eggs in their 
claws. ' In the twilight, when the bird is 



THE NIGHT -JAR. 1 6$ 

at work, it flits about, hovering now over 
one spot, then over another, occasionally 
dropping or tumbling over as if shot. 
This is the moment when, having seized a 
moth, the bird reaches it to its mouth and 
loses its balance ; when, again rising, it 
glides away like a ghost, till lost in shade/ 

" This bird makes no nest, but lays its 
eggs on the bare ground or on some loose 
crag without any seeming care whatever. 
Two beautiful eggs are sometimes found 
among the dry herbage of the common. 

"The Indians of South America, where 
the goat-suckers abound, use the young 
birds to make oil. A famous traveler who 
visited a dark chasm in the rocks called 
the ' Cavern of Guacharo/ where the goat- 
suckers make their nests, gives a very in- 
teresting account of his experience. He 
says : 'A frightful noise made by these 
birds issued from the dark recesses of the 
cavern ; their shrill and piercing tones re- 
verberated from the arched roofs and 
were re-echoed from the depths of the 
cave. The Indians, by fixing torches to 
the end of a long pole, pointed out their 



1 66 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

nests arranged in funnel-shaped holes, with 
which the whole roof of the grotto was 
riddled/ As the travelers advanced the 
noise increased, the flare of the torches 
still more alarming the birds. When it 
ceased for a few minutes, distinct moans 
were heard from other remote branches of 
the cavern — the alternate responses of 
other flocks of these birds. 

" The Indians every year, about midsum- 
mer, descend into the cave furnished with 
poles for the purpose of destroying the 
nests. At this time many thousands of 
birds are killed ; and the old ones, as if to 
protect their broods, hover over the heads 
of the Indians, uttering the most dreadful 
shrieks. The young that fall to the ground 
are immediately ripped open to procure the 
fat with which they are then loaded. 

" At this period — which is commonly 
termed the ' oil-harvest ' — the Indians con- 
struct little habitations of palm-leaves close 
to the opening, and even in the mouth, of 
the cavern. Here the grease of the young 
birds just killed is melted over a fire of dry 
sticks and run into pots of white clay. 



THE NIGHT-JAR. 1 67 

This grease — known by the name of 'gua- 
charo butter or oil ' — is semi-liquid, trans- 
parent and without smell, and so pure that 
it may be kept a twelvemonth without be- 
coming rancid." 

" Is that all the butter the poor people 
have ?" asked Clara, who did not think she 
would like it on her bread. 

" I think it is," replied Miss Harson, 
"and they are probably glad to get it. 
Travelers who have eaten it say that it 
never has a disagreeable taste or smell. 
So you see that, instead of goatsuckers 
stealing milk, they actually supply people 
with butter." 



CHAPTER XV. 

A MEMBER OF THE SCRAPER FAMILY: THE 
PHEASANT. 

"/^H how beautiful !" exclaimed the 
\^J children, gazing at the wonderfully- 
tinted plumage of a golden pheasant ; and 
Malcolm asked, 

" Isn't that a bird of paradise, Miss Har- 
son?" 

" No," was the reply, " but it is nearly as 
handsome a bird, and came originally from 
as great a distance, being named from its 
home on the river Phasis, in Asia Minor. 
It belongs to the gallinaceous family, or 
scrapers, and is a cousin of the chicken, 
turkey, peacock, and so forth. Next to 
the peacock, it is said, pheasants are among 
the most beautiful of birds, as well for the 
vivid color of their plumes as for their 
happy mixtures and varieties. It is far be- 
yond the power of the pencil to draw any- 

168 



I70 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

thing so glossy, so bright, or with points sc 
finely blending into one another. 

"We are told that when Croesus, king 
of Lydia, was seated on his throne adorned 
with royal magnificence and all the barba- 
rous pomp of Eastern splendor, he asked 
Solon if he had ever beheld anything so 
fine. The Greek philosopher, in no way 
moved by the objects before him, or per- 
haps taking a pride in his rough simplicity, 
replied that after having seen the beautiful 
plumage of the pheasant he could be as- 
tonished at no other finery. 

"In looking at the picture,'' continued 
Miss Harson, " you will see that the feath- 
ers of the head are blackish in front, mixed 
with shining purple ; while on the top and 
upper part of the neck they are dark-green 
and shine like silk. Sometimes the top of 
the head is of a shining blue, and the head 
itself, as well as the upper part of the neck, 
appears sometimes blue and sometimes 
green. The feathers of the breast, the 
shoulders, the middle of the back and 
the sides under the wings have a blackish 
ground, with edges tinged of an exquisite 



THE PHEASANT. 171 

color, which appears sometimes black and 
sometimes purple, according to the different 
lights in which it is placed. The tail is 
about eighteen inches long. 

" ' What a lordly creature a pheasant 
looks moving along the grassy glade of a 
wood, now erecting his head as if to listen, 
while perchance a sunbeam falls upon his 
burnished neck, then stooping to pick up a 
fallen acorn, the long plumes of his tail 
swaying in the wind like silken pennons, 
or, alarmed by the rustling of the long 
reeds, plunging among the underwood or 
flapping his way to the ivied arm of a tree ! 
How beautiful appears a flock of these 
birds feeding upon the wildwood-fruits in 
some path seldom trodden by any foot 
saving their own ! What terrible havoc 
the murderous gun makes of their feathers, 
scattering their gold and crimson and pur- 
ple plumes upon the wind and drawing 
down the bright scarlet rim that encircles 
the deep shining eyes which the filmy dark- 
ness covers ! 

" * The sound of their voices, too, calling 
to each other from the distant thickets, har- 



172 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

monizes well with the silence of the scene. 
Then to come upon them unawares when 
they are squatting among the tangled grass 
and plants, and see them spring up and 
with a loud noise whir through the woven 
branches to some more secret covert, is a 
beautiful and striking sight, especially in 
the month of October, when every motion 
of their strong wings scatters a shower of 
golden leaves to the ground/ " 

"Why do people shoot the pretty pheas- 
ants ?" asked Clara. " Do they want their 
feathers ?" 

" Not so much their feathers, dear, as 
their flesh," was the reply. " The pheasant 
is what is called a game-bird, and is consid- 
ered a great dainty ; in old times it was 
thought almost to cure diseases. At a 
great feast which was given about the 
middle of the fifteenth century two hun- 
dred pheasants were served up, and at the 
luxurious repasts of the ancient Romans 
this bird was very highly esteemed on ac- 
count of its novelty and its costliness. 

" It is only a half-domesticated bird, and 
loves the shade of woods with a thick un- 



THE PHEASANT, 1 73 

dergrowth of long, tangled grass and thorny 
brakes and ferny hollows, although it may 
be found in the thick hedgerows and corn- 
fields and clover-patches. But its home is 
not there : it wants a wild, free, sylvan 
tract where it may at least fancy itself 
secure from man and his misdoings. 

"'All among the leafy woodlands, 
When the trees have donned their richest 
Garniture, and fruitful autumn 
Maketh all things ripe and golden — 
Maketh all things rich and mellow — 
There the pheasant, with a splendid 
Dress befitting such a season, 
Glides through ferny brakes and thickets, 
Crouches in the dells and dingles 
'Mid the purple bells of foxgloves, 
'Mid the grasses tall and feathery, 
Hiding from keen-scented pointers : 
Foolish bird ! all vainly hiding !' 

" Pheasants have been considered — and 
with some reason — foolish birds easily taken 
by every snare ; but they were not only high- 
ly esteemed in ancient times, but viewed 
with a sort of superstitious respect — so 
much so that by the heathen Romans those 
who first served them up at entertainments 
were deemed guilty of a sort of impiety to 



/ 



174 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

their idol-gods ; and when they were 
afterward introduced as food, they were 
never used even by the emperors, except 
on the most solemn occasions. 

" The golden pheasant of China is a par- 
ticularly beautiful bird. It is smaller than 
the common pheasant, and its general col- 
or is crimson ; but the head has a magnifi- 
cent yellow crest which looks like silk. The 
back is also yellow, and in the other parts 
blue and brown are mingled. 

"The Argus pheasant, which is still 
handsomer, is also a native of China. Its 
feathers are marked with eyes like those 
in the peacock's train, and its colors are a 
changeable blue, dull orange and dusky 
brown. It is about the size of a turkey, 
and the two middle feathers of the tail are 
three feet long. 

" There is also a beautiful Indian pheas- 
ant, rather larger than a common fowl. 
This one has an erect crest of eighteen 
feathers, the longest of which measure 
three inches and a half. The feathers of 
the head and throat are green bronze ; the 
middle of the neck, purple with a copper 



THE PHEASANT, 175 

gloss. The back and the wings are purple ; 
the under-part, black with a green gloss ; 
the tail, cinnamon-brown. 

" But all these beautiful dresses are worn 
only by the male bird. ' The little brown 
hen ' of the pheasant hovers securely over 
her slightly-made nest, her want of beauty 
being her chief protection. In the nest 
are ten or twelve eggs of a plain olive- 
color. When the little brood come forth, 
they go rolling about like balls of yellow 
down after their clucking and exulting 
mother, who leads them through 

" * Many a lane, and many an alley green, 
Dingle and bosky dell of the wildwood, 
And many a bosky bourn from side to side.' 

" ' There they go, little round, rollicking 
things, chattering and twittering all day 
long, carefully fed and watched by their 
assiduous mother, who covers them with 
her wings at night and defends them as 
best she can against the damps and dews, 
and often less successfully against furred 
and feathered enemies — the weasel, the 
polecat, the skulking fox and the ghost- 



176 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

like owl, which, in lieu of a mouse-supper, 
will, if he has a chance, take a plump young 
pheasant or partridge, or any other small 
game of the kind/ " 

" Don't they look like little chickens, 
Miss Harson ?" asked Edith, who was 
very much taken with the description of 
the baby-pheasants. 

" Very much like them, dear," was the re- 
ply ; " they belong to the same family, and 
the wee chicks, too, often look like \ little 
balls of yellow down/ And now, w T ith 
these pretty verses about the home of the 
British pheasant, we shall leave him, to at- 
tend to some of his relations : 

" ' The stockdove builds in the old oak wood ; 
The rook in the elm tree rears her brood ; 
The owl in a ruin doth hoot and stare ; 
The mavis and merle build everywhere. 
But not for these will we go to day : 
'Tis the pheasant that lures us hence away — 
The beautiful pheasant, that loves to be 
Where the young green birches are waving free. 

" ' Away to the woods with the silvery rind 
And the emerald tresses afloat in the wind ! 
For 'tis joy to go to those sylvan bowers 
When summer is rich with leaves and flowers, 
And to see, 'mid the growth of all lovely things, 
The joyous pheasant unfold his wings, 



THE PHEASANT. 1 77 

And then cower down, as if to screen 
His gorgeous purple, gold and green. 

" * O beautiful bird, in thy stately pride 

Thou wast made in a waste of flowers to hide, 
And to fling to the sun the glorious hues 
Of thy rainbow gold, thy greens and blues ! 
Yes, beautiful pheasant, the birch-wood bowers, 
Rich, many-formed leaves, bright-tinted flowers, 
Broad masses of shade and sunshine free, 
In thy gorgeous beauty are meet for thee.' " 
12 



CHAPTER XVI. 

MORE OF THE SCRAPERS: THE PEACOCK, 
THE TURKEY AND THE QUAIL. 

I KNOW that bird," said Malcolm, 
proudly. 

"And I!" "And I!" exclaimed Clara 
and little Edith. 

" Yes," replied Miss Harson, " it is easy 
to tell the peacock, with his magnificent 
train, of which he is so proud, but not so 
easy to believe that he belongs to the 
poultry, or scraper, family. These beauti- 
ful birds were first brought from the East 
Indies ; and they are still found in a wild 
state in India and in the islands of Java 
and Ceylon. The Bible mentions them 
among the things which Solomon had 
brought to him from the East when ' once 
in three years came the ships of Tarshish, 
bringing gold and silver, ivory, and apes, 

178 



THE PEACOCK. 1 79 

and peacocks/ * They were probably 
brought from Southern India or Ceylon. 
" The glory of this magnificent bird is in 







THE PEACOCK (Pavo cristatus). 

its train, which rises just above the tail, and 
when erected forms a fan of the most re- 
splendent hues. The two middle feathers 
are sometimes four feet and a half long, 
while the others gradually diminish on each 
side. The ends of the feathers are broad 
and decorated with what is called ' the eye/ 
The real tail of the peacock is of short, 

* I Kings x. 22; 2 Chron. ix. 21. 



l8o BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

stiff brown feathers, which serve as a sup- 
port to the train. 

" When he is pleased and satisfied, the 
bird erects his train and displays all the 
majesty of his beauty ; all his movements 
are full of dignity ; his head and neck bend 
nobly back ; his pace is slow and solemn ; 
and he frequently turns slowly and grace- 
fully round, as if to catch the sunbeams in 
every direction and produce new colors of 
inconceivable richness and beauty, accom- 
panied, at the same time, with a thrumming 
of his wings on the ground. His voice is 
very harsh and disagreeable. The pea- 
cock's beautiful plumes are shed every 
year; and while this is going on he seems 
very much mortified and hides himself 
from view." 

" Aren't peacocks very vain ?" asked 
Clara. 

"That is what people say," was the re- 
ply, " and their actions certainly look like 
it. 'As vain as a peacock ' and 'As proud 
as a peacock ' are common expressions ; 
but we must not forget that his elegant 
dress is given to him directly by the Crea- 



THE PEACOCK. l8l 

tor and is his noblest possession ; whilst 
God looks for something higher in those to 
whom he has given reason and mortal 
souls. A peacock is meant to be a pea- 
cock and to show his feathers, but it is not 
so pleasant when girls make peacocks of 
themselves. 

" Peacocks' feathers were at one time 
much worn with gay dresses ; and one of 
the early kings of France had a splendid 
mantle embroidered with these feathers 
sent to him by the pope. They were also 
made into a crown by noble ladies to dec- 
orate their favorite troubadours, or min- 
strels. The ' eyes ' in the feathers were 
meant to express that the attention of the 
whole world was fixed on them. Queen 
Elizabeth of England had her picture taken 
in a gorgeous robe covered with peacock's 
eyes." 

" Don't people cook and eat peacocks, 
Miss Harson ?" asked Malcolm. 

" Not often now, as they are valued more 
for beauty than for food. But their flesh 
is good — rather more dry than that of the 
turkey, but white and agreeable. In former 



1 82 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

times peacocks were often served up at the 
tables of the great — not to be eaten, but 
only to be seen. To prepare them for this 
display, the skin was first taken off and the 
body filled with warm spices ; then the skin 
was put on again, with all the beautiful 
plumage in perfect order. A bird thus 
stuffed would often last for many years. 
At wedding-entertainments the peacock's 
bill and throat were often -filled with cotton 
and camphor, which were set on fire to 
amuse the company. 

" Like other birds of the poultry kind, 
the peacock feeds upon grain and seeds. 
There is, however, scarcely any food that it 
will not at times covet and pursue, often 
much to the annoyance of the gardener. 
" The pea-hen has neither crest nor 
train, and looks very plain beside her 
showy partner. She lays about five or six 
eggs when tame, but in their native forests 
the eggs of these birds are said to be very 
numerous." 

The children would have liked to hear 
more about peacocks, but Miss Harson 
assured them that she had given them all 



THE TURKEY. 1 83 

the information she could find, as these 
birds were very much like some people 
who had little besides their looks to recom- 
mend them. 

" The next ' scraper/ " continued the gov- 
erness, " is the turkey, a bird with which 
we are pretty well 
acquainted — in a 
cooked state, at 
least. But what we 
shall learn is chiefly 
about the wild tur- -5 
key, from which our ^ 
tame turkeys were 
originally descended. This bird is a native 
of the New World ; it abounded in North 
America when Europeans came here. It 
has been driven farther and farther to the 
west as population has advanced. 

'" In their native woods turkeys are much 
larger than when in a state of domestic 
captivity. They are more beautiful, too, 
their feathers being a dark gray bordered 
at the edges w r ith a bright gold color. 

" ■ If the common cock/ it is said, ' is the 
most useful bird in our poultry-yard, the 




THE TURKEY. 



1 84 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

turkey is the most remarkable, as well for 
the beauty of the tail as for the singular 
appearance of the head, and for those hab- 
its which are almost peculiar to itself/ The 
domestic bird appears to be stupid, vain 
and quarrelsome ; and every one knows 
how angry a turkey-cock will get at the 
sight of anything red. He is a great bully, 
too, and seems to delight in frightening 
children and any animal that will run from 
him ; but, like other bullies, he is weak and 
cowardly when boldly faced even by smaller 
animals. 

"Some one writes of the wild turkeys: 
1 Though, on the whole, friendly and socia- 
ble birds, and fond of traveling together 
in flocks, a good deal of severe discipline 
is exercised by the old birds, particularly 
the males, who seem to rule over the juniors 
with a very strong hand. The young males 
— called ' gobblers' — are compelled to live 
by themselves ; for if they venture to ap- 
proach their seniors, they are sure of being 
severely punished, and many are killed on 
the spot by repeated blows on the skull. 

" ' They frequently meet with great diffi- 



THE TURKEY, 1 85 

culties in their journeyings in consequence 
of rivers stopping their progress. In this 
case they seem to hold a council ; the old 
males strut about and gobble loudly, while 
the hens and the young males spread out 
their tails and make the most of their fig- 
ures. At last, as if by common consent, they 
mount the highest trees ; from whence, at 
a particular signal from a leader, away they 
launch themselves. If, as is often the case, 
the river is wide, these short-winged, heavy- 
bodied travelers perish in great numbers. 
The strong, the old and the healthy gener- 
ally accomplish their object; while the 
weak and the tender, falling short, are 
hurried down the stream. But they do 
not in this perilous predicament lose their 
presence of mind ; for, spreading out their 
tails as a sail, they close their wings, stretch 
out their necks and strike out boldly for 
the shore/ 

" Female turkeys lay from fifteen to 
twenty eggs and are particularly devoted 
mothers. They really seem to enjoy set- 
ting, and are often employed to hatch the 
eggs of other poultry. There is a funny 



1 86 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

story of a turkey-cock who undertook to 
help his mate in this matter, taking some 
of the eggs from under her and carefully 
covering them with his own body. The 
poultry- woman, not thinking the eggs very 
safe, put them back again under the hen, 
but as soon as the cock had a chance he 
carried them off as before. It was then 
concluded to let him have his own way just 
to see what he would do, and a nest was 
made for him with as many eggs in it as 
his body would cover. The turkey-cock 
seemed to be very much pleased with this 
arrangement, and sat very patiently on the 
eggs. Indeed, he was so devoted to his 
novel employment that he scarcely took 
time to go in search of food. But when 
twenty-eight young ones appeared, and he 
saw so many little animals pecking around 
him and requiring his constant care, he was 
a very much puzzled turkey, and did not 
seem to know what to make of it. It was 
not considered safe to leave them to his 
tender mercies, for fear of his forgetting 
them or treading on them ; so they were 
given to the care of an experienced hen. 



THE TURKEY. 1 87 

" There is in Australia a species of wild 
turkey that has a curious way of hatching 
its eggs. A nest is made by collecting a 
mass of fallen leaves into quite a pile, and 
in the middle of this the, eggs are deposited. 
The leaves of the trees found in that coun- 
try are full of moisture, and when collected 
in a mass they soon ferment and heat. The 
bird is taught by Providence when the heat 
has continued long enough to hatch the 
eggs ; and, pulling the heap to pieces, the 
old ones release the brood and lead them 
off to the woods or the plains. 

"The horned-turkey of Bengal is a sin- 
gular-looking creature. It is not quite so 
large as the ordinary turkey, and the loose 
flap which hangs from its throat is blue in- 
stead of red. But the strangest part of it 
is the fleshy, callous substance, of a blue 
color, which rises like a horn behind each 
eye and makes it look like a horned animal. 
Other w r ild turkeys are found in South 
America, especially in Brazil and Guiana. 
These are crested, and have much more 
splendid plumage than those in milder cli- 
mates." 



155 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" Oh what pretty birds !" exclaimed the 
children over a group of plump partridges. 
"Are these 'scrapers' too, Miss Harson?" 

"Yes, these are scrapers too, but this 
particular species is also called Perdex, or 
1 perdecine.' The partridges are pretty 
generally distributed over the world, but 
are found mostly in warm and temperate 
climates. They live on vegetable sub- 
stances, such as seeds, buds and the her- 
baceous parts of plants. They are of timid 
and retiring habits, have a strong whirring 
flight, and run with great speed when 
obliged to leave the covert which they 
prefer. 

" But the bird is found in frozen regions 
as well as under the equator, and it is won- 
derful to see how it is adapted to the nature 
of the climate in which it resides. In Green- 
land the partridge is brown in summer; but 
when icy winter begins to reign, it changes 
its brown dress for a snow-white mantle 
lined with down. ' On the shores of Hud- 
son's Bay, in the winter season, partridges 
may be seen by thousands feeding on the 
willow-tops peeping from the surface of 



THE PARTRIDGE. 1 89 

the snow. They are provided with a plum- 
age well calculated for the severe weather 
to which they are exposed, each feather be- 
ing in a manner doubled, so as to give ad- 
ditional warmth/ These Arctic partridges, 
having no trees in which to shelter them- 
selves and to roost, burrow under the 
snow ; they will dive under it as a duck 
dives under water, and rise at some dis- 
tance from the spot where they disappeared. 
The Indians catch them in traps, and live 
upon them through their long winter. 

" The partridge is very difficult to tame, 
on account of its exceeding shyness ; but 
it has been known occasionally to attach 
itself to human beings. An account is 
given of one that was reared in a clergy- 
man's family : it became so tame that it 
would go into the parlor at breakfast and 
at other times, and would often stretch it- 
self before the fire and seem to enjoy the 
heat like a house-dog. The dogs of the 
family never disturbed it, but a strange cat 
one day came in and killed it. 

" A partridge in Scotland formed a singu- 
lar friendship with a flock of wild turkeys. 



I90 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

These birds never came into the poultry- 
yard, but roosted in the trees and lived on 
anything they could pick up, although tame 
enough to come about the house to be fed 
when the ground was covered with frost 
and snow. A full-grown partridge sud- 
denly appeared among this flock of tur- 
keys, and remained with them during the 
whole summer, autumn and winter. At 
night he slept under the trees in which 
they roosted ; in the day he fed with them, 
and was not in the least frightened or dis- 
turbed by people walking among them. 
He took great liberties with the old turkey- 
cock. When he saw him going to pick up 
a worm or a seed, he used to run under 
him between his legs and snatch it out of 
his mouth, the turkey-cock never resenting 
it. Early in the spring he left them, but in 
the beginning of autumn he rejoined his 
old friends and continued with them until 
the next spring, when he disappeared and 
did not return, having probably been 
killed. 

"The partridge usually makes its nest in 
grain-fields, where, undisturbed in the thick 



THE PARTRIDGE. I9I 

forest of tall stalks, it rears its brood. 
Sometimes, like most other birds, it chooses 
odd places for a nursery, and one was made 
on fop of a haystack, where a promising 
family was hatched and carried off safely. 
" ' The manners of the partridge in most 
circumstances/ writes a naturalist, 'resemble 
those of poultry in general, but their cun- 
ning and instinct seem superior to those of 
the larger kinds. Perhaps, as they live in 
the very neighborhood of their enemies, 
they have more frequent occasion to put 
their little arts in practice, and learn by 
habit the means of evasion or safety. The 
affection of the female for her young is 
particularly strong and lively, and she is 
greatly assisted in the care of rearing them 
by her mate ; they lead them out in com- 
mon, call them together, point out to them 
their proper food, and assist them in find- 
ing it by scratching the ground with their 
feet. They frequently sit close by each 
other, covering their young with their wings 
like the hen ; and when they are compelled 
to move, the male employs many interest- 
ing stratagems, such as fluttering along the 



192 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

ground, hanging his wings and feigning to be 
wounded, in order to attract the pursuit of 
the enemy and afford to the female an op- 
portunity to escape with her infant brood/ 

" Partridges will often fight desperately 
to defend their young against the attacks 
of other birds. That general thief the 
carrion-crow has been attacked by a pair 
of them and obliged to surrender the nice 
young fledgling which he had seized for the 
purpose of making a feast ; and when a kite 
has been hovering over a brood of young 
partridges, the parents have been known 
to fly up, screaming and fighting with all 
their might for the purpose of beating off 
the assailant. 

" ' Ah ! take thy heed, nor on her nest 
The partridge, ill-secured, molest. 
Deep in the grass behold her sit, 
Reluctant from her couch to flit, 
Though the stout mower's whistling blade, 
Incautious, her abode invade, 
And threaten, 'mid the falling heap, 
Away herself and brood to sweep.' " 

" Do you remember any one in the Bible 
likening himself to a partridge ?" asked 
Miss Harson. 



THE PARTRIDGE. 



193 



After a pause Malcolm brightened up 
and exclaimed : 

" Yes, yes ! It was David. When that 
wicked Saul was chasing him and trying to 




THE PARTRIDGE. 



kill him, David said that he was hunted like 
a partridge on the mountains. " 

" Then there ought to be partridges in 
Palestine, and there are — a fine, large spe- 
cies called the Greek partridge, which is to- 
day run down by men with clubs as poor 
David was chased by Saul and his soldiers/' 

" Is that all for to-night, Miss Harson ?" 
was asked, rather wistfully in spite of the 
long talk they had had. 

" Not quite/' was the smiling reply. "We 

13 



194 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

have something to learn about the quail, 
and it will not do to separate such near 
relations. This is a pretty little bird not 
much larger than the lark, but it resembles 
the partridge so closely in shape and in the 
color of its plumage that it has often been 
thought by naturalists to be the same bird. 
The flesh of the quail is particularly deli- 
cate, and we read in the Holy Scriptures 
how quails supplied the Israelites with food 
when they were journeying in the wilder- 
ness. In the eleventh chapter of Numbers, 
thirty-first and thirty-second verses, it is 
written : 'And there went forth a wind 
from the Lord, and brought quails from 
the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as 
it were a day's journey on this side, and 
as it were a day's journey on the other 
side, round about the camp, and as it were 
two cubits high upon the face of the earth. 
And the people stood up all that day, and 
all that night, and all the next day, and 
they gathered the quails ; he that gathered 
least gathered ten homers ; and they 
spread them all abroad for themselves 
round about the camp.' 



THE QUAIL. 



195 



" The fact of such numbers of quails com- 
ing so suddenly, and covering a space of 
thirty or forty miles, seemed so strange that 
it was suggested that they must be locusts. 




THE AMERICAN QUAIL. 

But immense flights of these birds have 
been seen by travelers in the East. One 
of them says: ' Near Constantinople, in 
the autumn, the sun is often nearly ob- 
scured by the prodigious flights of quails 



I96 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

which alight on the coast of the Black Sea 
near the Bosphorus, and are caught by 
means of nets spread on high poles 
planted along the cliff some yards from 
its edge, against which the birds, exhausted 
by their passage over the sea, strike them- 
selves and fall/ 

" There are also immense flocks of them 
in Egypt at harvest- time, and on the west- 
ern coasts of Naples and the shores of 
Provence i such prodigious flights have ap- 
peared that a hundred thousand have been 
taken in a day within the space of four or 
five miles.' 

"The quail's nest is generally found 
among wheat, clover or long grass ; it is 
only a hollow made in the ground and 
lined with dry grass or clover-stalks. 
There are from seven to twelve white 
eggs blotched or speckled with brown. 
A mower once found in a field of grass 
a nest with a dozen eggs in it and the 
mother-bird crouching down upon it, and 
the leafy branch of a tree was placed over 
it for shelter and to keep it from harm. 
The quail, who had at first been frightened 



THE QUAIL. I97 

away, returned to her duties and sat on 
her nest the same as ever, although the 
owner of the place and his family frequent- 
ly went to look at her. She would even let 
visitors come within a foot of her without 
being alarmed, and finally led forth her 
brood in safety. 

" Quails are great wanderers ; sometimes 
they emigrate for food, and sometimes for 
change of climate. One species has for 
this reason been called ' the wandering 
quail.' 

" Other members of this gallinaceous 
order," added Miss Harson, " such as the 
ostrich, the cassowary and the emeu, are 
to be found in Africa and Australia, and 
these we shall next study, afterward re- 
turning to our European birds." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

FEATHERED HORSES: THE OSTRICH 

I AM so glad," said Malcolm, " that we 
have come to ostriches !" 

"Why?" asked his governess. "Be- 
cause there is so much of them, or because 
you hope to hear of wonderful exploits ?" 

" I suppose,'' replied the boy, trying to 
collect his reasons, " that it is because they 
live in Africa, and — and because the natives 
hunt them. Anyhow, I've always liked os- 
triches." 

Miss Harson smiled as she said, 

(i A great many people ' like ostriches,' 
Malcolm. Some like their feathers, some 
their eggs, some use them as horses ; but it 
is quite probable that, on the whole, the os- 
trich would prefer not being * liked.' It is 
an immense bird, as it usually measures 
seven feet from the ground to the top of its 

198 



THE OSTRICH. 



I99 



head, and an outstretched wing is three feet 
long. Its weight— about eighty pounds — 
prevents it from flying, but this drawback 




THE OSTRICH (Struthio camelus). 

is almost balanced by its wonderful swift- 
ness in running. 

"The plumage of ostriches is generally 
black and white, though some are gray ; 
the largest feathers are at the ends of the 



200 BIRDS AND THEIR WA YS. 

wings and the tail. The only use which 
their short wings appear to be to the birds 
is to balance them in running, as 'by a 
constant flopping and quivering they pre- 
serve that accuracy of equilibrium which is 
necessary when an animal of such size 
presses forward with the speed of a rail- 
way-engine.' Dr. Livingstone says that 
the speed of an alarmed ostrich is thirty 
miles an hour — greater than that of the 
fleetest horse. 

"The feathers of this bird comprise its 
most valued part, and have long been an 
article of commerce ; for it is quite true 
that, as has been said, 'our most splendid 
attire is composed of the shreds we steal 
from one and another — from sheep and 
from silkworms. Observe that woman 
now passing so loftily. She has upon 
her head a feather plucked from the tail 
of an ostrich. How proud ought that 
ostrich to be which has so many more, 
and all its own !' 

"The food of the ostrich is generally 
supposed to be made up of tenpenny nails 
and pieces of glass ; in fact, one was seen 



THE OSTRICH. 201 

to take out of a man's hand and swallow 
a door-key. 

" ' Your ostrich, he will swallow brass, 
And iron he loves dearly ; 
He'll pick up a peck of tenpenny nails 
As cocks and hens do bailey. ' 

" There is scarcely anything an ostrich 
will not swallow, iron and brass among the 
rest ; but those metals do not form its 
nourishment: they only aid in grinding 
its food. A long time ago an ostrich was 
taken to England, and people kept it con- 
stantly supplied with bags of new nails, 
which it ate, of course ; but, as nails are 
not a desirable steady diet even for an 
ostrich, the bird soon pined away and 
died. A tame ostrich whose owner was 
employed in casting bullets picked them 
up as fast as they were thrown out of 
the mould on to the floor and deliberate- 
ly swallowed them. When bullets are 
shaken out of the mould, they are so hot 
as to cause cold water to hiss ; so that some 
idea may be formed of the callousness of 
the ostrich's throat, neck and mouth, as 
well as stomach. 



202 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" Some things, however, are beyond its 
powers, as one was actually killed by eating 
a large quantity of quicklime ; another, at- 
tempting to manage a parasol, became de- 
formed, and afterward died. 

" The usual food of the ostrich is strict- 
ly vegetable. It eats stones and such sub- 
stances, as smaller birds eat gravel or sand 
— to help grind the tough particles. The 
contents of an ostrich's stomach are near- 
ly as varied as are those of a boy's pocket. 
Besides pieces of broken glass, a mass of 
nuts, brass, iron and copper and a collec- 
tion of stones — some of them weighing 
over a pound — have been found in that 
locality. 

" This bird is fond of grain of all kinds, 
and it is a decided nuisance to the grain- 
growers of Southern Africa. A grain- 
field on which a flock of ostriches have 
made a night-raid will be left in a sorry 
plight, for these birds will eat only the 
ears, and let the straw go ; so that, after 
one of their visits, a wheat-field is not 
good for much. 

"Poor ostrich! in spite of his size and 



THE OSTRICH. 203 

his strength, he is constantly hunted to 
death for the sake of his beautiful plumage. 
The ostrich-hunters train their best and 
fleetest horses for this purpose. As soon 
as the hunter comes within sight of his 
game he puts his horse into a gentle gal- 
lop, so as to keep the ostrich in sight, yet 
not so as to frighten him from the plain 
into the mountains. Upon observing him- 
self pursued at a distance, the bird begins 
to run, at first but gently, being either in- 
sensible to his danger or sure of escaping. 
In this situation he somewhat resembles a 
man running at full speed. His wings, like 
two arms, keep working with a motion cor- 
respondent to that of his legs, and his speed 
might very soon snatch him from the grasp 
of his pursuers, but, unfortunately for the 
silly creature, instead of going off in a di- 
rect line, he takes his course in circles; 
while the hunters still make a small course 
within, relieve one another, meet him at un- 
expected turns, and keep him thus still em- 
ployed, still followed, for two or three days 
together. At last, spent with fatigue and 
hunger, and finding all avenues of escape 



204 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

closed to him, he endeavors to hide him- 
self from those enemies whom he cannot 
avoid, and buries his head in the sand or 
plunges it into the first thicket he meets. 
Sometimes, however, he attempts to face 
his pursuers ; and, though in general the 
most gentle animal in nature, when driven 
to desperation he defends himself with his 
beak, his wings and his feet. Such is the 
force of his movements that a man would 
be utterly unable to withstand the shock." 

" I thought that the ostrich could go fas- 
ter than a horse ?" said Malcolm. 

"That is very true," was the reply. 
" The Bible tells us that ' what time she 
lifteth herself up on high, she scorneth 
the horse and his rider/ and for a short 
time an ostrich can outrun a race-horse, 
but it cannot hold out so long ; and, as we 
have just seen, the bird can finally be 
hunted down. 

" Here is another way of catching os- 
triches. Speaking of purchasing feathers 
from the native tribes of South Africa, the 
writer says : < Of all the tribes that are 
successful in the feather-hunt, the little 



THE OSTRICH. 205 

insignificant Bosjesman is perhaps the 
most successful. The mode which he 
employs is so singular and so clever that 
it is^ worthy of explanation. He first takes 
a dead ostrich and skins it, cutting off the 
legs, but leaving the remainder of the skin 
entire. The neck is so fitted up with a 
stick running through it that it can be 
moved about easily by a person holding 
an end of the stick in his hand. The 
skin of the back is then strained over a 
kind of saddle and left to dry. When 
thoroughly hard and stiff, and there are 
ostriches near, the tiny hunter fits the 
feathered saddle on his back in such a 
way that when he stoops the neck of the 
stuffed bird is erect and he can hold the 
end of the guiding-stick in his hand. He 
takes with him his bow and a supply of 
poisoned arrows, and after rubbing his 
black legs with some white substance 
goes off toward the unsuspecting os- 
triches. By means of the stick he ma- 
noeuvres the neck of the ostrich-skin as 
if it were animated by the bird itself, 
sometimes stooping it toward the ground 



206 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

as if pecking at something, sometimes 
turning the head from side to side as if 
the bird were looking out for foes. And so 
well does he imitate the action of an os- 
trich that those who have seen the per- 
formance declare that it is almost im- 
possible to distinguish between the false 
bird and the true. On he goes, now and 
then stopping, but always drawing nearer 
and nearer, until he gets among the birds. 
Down goes the neck, out comes an arrow, 
and in a moment one or more of the os- 
triches have poisoned darts in their bodies. 
The wounded birds start, give the alarm, 
and away they run, the Bosjesman after 
them just as if he were one of them- 
selves and quite as frightened as they. 
About the birds that have been struck he 
does not trouble himself, for he knows 
well enough that even if the wound were 
no more than the scratch of a pin it would 
be as surely the deathblow as if the arrow 
had gone through the heart ; it is simply a 
question of time. So, by industriously 
keeping up the deception, the cunning 
little fellow lays low many a swift and 



THE OSTRICH. 20y 

wary bird which would laugh at the speed 
of a race-horse and could annihilate with 
a single kick its small yet formidable 
foe." 

" Do ostriches kick?" asked the children 
in surprise, after listening with great in- 
terest to this curious account of an os- 
trich-hunt. 

"They do indeed," replied Miss Harson. 
" The writer whose description I have just 
read speaks of the wonderful size and 
strength of the ostrich's legs, and says 
that they can be used not only for flight, 
but for defence. When closely attacked, 
the ostrich has a way of kicking at its 
adversary with these formidable legs, and 
often inflicts severe injury by the claw of 
its foot, which is sharp and angular. A 
man has been killed by a single blow 
from one of these weapons. Curiously 
enough, it delivers the stroke forward, 
so as to attack an advancing foe, and does 
not kick backward, as a horse does. And 
when running it can throw up the pebbles 
with its feet at every stride and discharge 
a constant series of volleys against its 



208 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

pursuer, about whose ears they rattle like 
so many shot." 

It was generally admitted that a kicking 
ostrich must be a funny sight ; but pres- 
ently Malcolm asked, with a great deal of 
interest, 

" Miss Harson, are there any more os- 
trich-hunts ?" 

" I believe not, Malcolm," was the reply ; 
"I do not wish to hear of your going to 
Africa to hunt ostriches. The Bosjesman 
sometimes takes them in an easier way. 
When he discovers an ostrich-nest and does 
not care about the eggs, he waits until 
both birds have left it; and then, creep- 
ing up to the sand-heaped nest, he scoops 
out a hollow in the sand, covers himself up 
neatly, and lies there patiently until the 
parent-birds return to their home. In 
about three seconds each of the birds 
has received a poisoned arrow, and they 
soon give up." 

" I think that seems wickedest of all," 
said Clara, full of pity for the poor awk- 
ward birds that were always getting 
killed. 



THE OSTRICH. 209 

" It does seem like taking a very mean 
advantage of the unsuspecting ostriches/' 
said his governess, " and it is much fairer to 
hunt them openly; but when wounded they 
are dangerous birds to approach. An ostrich 
that has been brought to the ground plunges 
itself about, spins round as it lies, and lashes 
out in every direction with its powerful legs. 
No one dares then approach within its 
reach ; for even a simple blow from its foot 
would break a limb or fracture a skull. 

"As soon as it can be done without 
danger the feathers are stripped from the 
wings and the tail of the ostrich, and the 
best are laid aside for sale, while the others 
are stuck round the hat as trophies; so that 
the odd sight of a wide-awake hat profusely 
decorated with ostrich-plumes is common 
enough in that half-civilized part of Africa 
which is near the Cape of Good Hope and 
Natal. 

" The nest — if nest it can be called — of 
this strange bird is a shallow pit scraped 
out of the sand and about four or five feet 
around. The sand taken from the middle 
is placed about the edge to make a sort 

14 



2IO BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

of bank. Ten or twelve eggs are often 
found on this margin, besides the twenty or 
forty inside. The outside eggs are supposed 
to be put there to feed the young birds with 
soft food before they are able to swallow 
the hard, dry substances on which their 
parents have to live in their desert home. 
The eggs are of course very large, and the 
natives of the dry, sandy regions where 
they are found are very glad to use them 
for food. They are said to taste very much 
like a duck's ^gg, and are cooked by being 
placed upright, with a hole broken in the 
upper end, in a pile of hot ashes. A stick 
is placed in this hole and constantly turned 
around ; so that every part of the yolk and 
white is cooked into a kind of omelet. The 
shell is very thick and nearly as strong as 
bone ; so that it is very useful for holding 
liquids, and the African women use the 
empty eggs for water-vessels. The shells 
are also sometimes made into ornamental 
drinking-cups. 

" The ostrich has been called a careless 
mother, but it is known that both the parent- 
birds take excellent care of their young 



THE OSTRICH. 211 

brood and defend them even with their 
lives. A traveler came suddenly upon a 
pair of grown ostriches surrounded by 
their young, when they all scampered off; 
but suddenly the male bird acted as if he 
had broken a leg, fell down in the sand and 
struggled violently. While he was thus 
distracting the attention of the intruder, his 
mate was leading off the young brood in 
another direction. Sometimes the mother- 
bird pretends to be lame, while her partner 
carries off the young. When the spectator 
thinks that he will find the maimed bird an 
easy prey, it coolly picks itself up and 
vanishes." 

The children were delighted to find that 
the ostrich itself could play tricks, although 
it suffered so much from the tricks of men; 
and Miss Harson found that their interest 
in the subject was apparently inexhaustible. 

" The ostrich, of course," continued the 
governess, " is not a singing-bird, and its 
voice is described as depending very much 
on its temper or upon the hour of day. Its 
night-cry is said to be deep and powerful — 
almost like the distant roaring of a lion ; 



212 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

but when it is angry and fights, it hisses 
quite in the goose-fashion. If it gains the 
victory, it utters a self-satisfied kind of 
cackle. 

" This bird is easily tamed, and will allow 
itself to be used as a horse. A large one 
has been known to carry two men on its 
back, and then to run so fast that its feet 
scarcely seemed to touch the ground. Two 
tame ones on the banks of the Niger 
1 seemed to be very proud of themselves 
and quite conscious of their own beauty. 
They were accustomed to strut in the sun 
along the side of the house for the purpose 
of admiring their own shadows. As they 
went along, turning round every moment 
for another peep at their beautiful forms as 
reflected on the wall of the house, they used 
to keep their wings constantly quivering — 
probably for the purpose of fanning them- 
selves by their vibration.' 

"Tame ostriches are wonderful eaters, and 
do not hesitate to appropriate anything that 
comes handy. Somebody says : ' I was one 
day walking by the side of the ostrich- depart- 
ment in the Zoological Gardens, having in 



THE OSTRICH. 21 3 

my hand part of a bun, the remainder of 
which had been given to sundry animals. 
Suddenly a dark shadow came over my head, 
a smart blow was given to my right hand, 
and on looking round I saw an ostrich 
swallowing the bun with a sedate aspect. 
It was but a little piece, and was almost 
entirely hidden in the closed hand ; but the 
bird's beak acted like a wedge, drove the 
hand open, and with the same movement 
extracted the contents.' 

"An ostrich at large cannot be a very 
welcome sight in the poultry-yard. A story 
is told of a duck that had successfully 
hatched a large brood of ducklings and 
was leading them about in all the pride and 
pomp of maternity. Unfortunately, she 
happened to pass by a spot where a tame 
ostrich was kept, and then occurred a 
.terrible catastrophe, for, with the mildest 
and most gentle expression imaginable, 
the ostrich stretched out its neck, picked up 
one duckling after another, and swallowed in 
rapid succession the whole brood, heedless 
of the remonstrances and the attacks of 
their afflicted mother." 



214 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" Wasn't that dreadful ?" said Edith ; and 
the tide of sympathy seemed to have turned 
quite against the ostrich. 

" We must leave the cousins of the ostrich 
until another evening," said the governess ; 
" for his ways and doings have taken up so 
much time that our talk must now come to 
an end." 

Malcolm pronounced it an uncommonly 
nice talk — "almost better than parrots;" 
and his sleep that night was somewhat 
disturbed by dreaming that, mounted on 
an ostrich, he was flying wildly through 
the desert. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

NEAR RELATIONS: THE CASSOWARY AND 
THE EMEU. 

" r I ^HE cassowary, the rhea and the 

X emeu," said Miss Harson, "are 
all cousins of the ostrich, and are very 
curious-looking creatures. They all be- 
long to the family of the Brevipennes, or 
short-winged birds." 

The children laughed outright at the 
funny pictures, and thought the cassowary, 
with its broad back and helmeted head, a 
particularly ridiculous-looking bird. 

" It doesn't seem to have any feathers," 
said Malcolm ; " it looks as if it was fringed 
all around." 

"The material of these strano-e-lookine 
plumes," replied Miss Harson, " resembles 
the hair of a horse's tail. Their color is 
black with a slight shade of red in it, and 

215 



2l6 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

each plume is double — that is, two spring 
from one shaft, or quill — and body, tail and 
wings are all covered alike. The head of 
the cassowary is exceedingly curious, having 
on it a bony structure something like a hel- 
met. It is black before and yellow behind, 
and gives the bird quite a fierce look. 

" The cassowary is about five feet high, and 
resembles the ostrich in many of its' ways. 
It, too, with impunity swallows all kinds of 
indigestible things. Food passes so quick- 
ly down its throat that eggs reach its stomach 
unbroken. It is especially comical when in 
motion. * Instead of going directly for- 
ward, it seems to kick up behind with one 
leg ; and then, making a bound onward 
with the other, it goes with such prodigious 
velocity that the swiftest racer would be left 
far behind.' 

"Although so formidable in appearance 
that it might be expected to be one of the 
most fierce of animals, the cassowary is by 
nature gentle and inoffensive. 'It never 
attacks others ; and, instead of the bill, 
when attacked it rather makes use of its 
legs and kicks like a horse, or runs against 



2l8 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

its pursuer, beats him down and treads him 
to the ground.' 

" The cassowary, though gentle, is said 
to be as much irritated by the sight of red 
as is a bull, and to dislike ragged people 
as strongly as does a house-dog. A tame 
cassowary has been known repeatedly to 
dash at people, and to use its best endeav- 
ors to kick them, simply because they 
wore red garments or were not respect- 
ably dressed." 

The children were very much amused 
with Miss Harson's account of this fastid- 
ious bird, particularly as its dress consisted 
only of horse-hair, and they immediate- 
ly inquired if there were not some 
stories about it. 

"I think we can find some," was the 
reply, " about another species of casso- 
wary. The one we have been considering 
inhabits Molucca and the neighboring isl- 
ands, and its voice is said to resemble the 
grunting of a hog. Altogether, it can 
scarcely be called an attractive animal. 
In Australia there is a kind of cassowary, 
or mooruk, which, although similar, is a 




THE AUSTRALIAN 



cassowary or emeu (Dromaius Nova Hollandia*). 



220 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

finer-looking bird, and this species is re- 
markably interesting. A person living in 
Sidney had two of these mooruks, male 
and female, and the account given of their 
doings is very funny. 

" When placed in the yard, he says, they 
walked about as tame as turkeys. They 
approached any one who came in, as if 
desirous of being fed, and were very do- 
cile. They began pecking at a bone which 
they had found (probably not having tasted 
any meat for some time), and would not, 
while engaged upon it, touch some boiled 
potatoes which were thrown to them. In- 
deed, it was afterward found that they ate 
better out of a dish than from the ground, 
having no doubt been early accustomed to 
be fed in that manner. They also seemed 
fond of scraping about the dunghill, and 
appeared to pick up food from it — prob- 
ably insects or grubs. * They were as fa- 
miliar as if born and bred among us for 
years, and did not require time to recon- 
cile them to their new situation, but were 
sociable and quite at home at once. We 
found them on the following day rather too 



THE EMEU. 221 

tame, or, like spoilt pets, too often in the 
way. One or both of them would walk 
into the kitchen, and while one was dodg- 
ing^under the table and chairs the other 
would leap upon the table, keeping the 
cook in a state of excitement ; or they 
would be heard in the hall or in the library 
in search of food or information ; or they 
would walk up stairs and then quickly de- 
scend again, making their peculiar chirping, 
w r histling noise. Not a door could be left 
open but in they walked. 

"'They kept the servants constantly on 
the alert. If one went to open the door, on 
turning round she found a mooruk behind 
her ; for they seldom went together, gener- 
ally wandering apart from each other. If 
any attempt was made to turn them out by 
force, they would dart rapidly round the 
•room, dodging about under the tables, chairs 
and sofas, and then end by squatting down 
under a sofa or in a corner. Indeed, it was 
impossible to remove the bird except by car- 
rying it away. On attempting this, the long 
muscular legs would begin kickingand strug- 
gling, when it would soon get released and 



222 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

politely walk out of its own accord. The 
best method was to entice them out as if 
you had something eatable in your hand, 
when they would follow the direction in 
which you wished to lead them. On the 
housemaid once attempting to turn the bird 
out of one of the rooms, it kicked her and 
tore her dress/ " 

The children were very merry over the 
mooruk's antics : it was even better than 
ostriches ; and Miss Harson laughed, too, 
as she continued : 

/'There is so much to read about this queer 
bird that one scarcely knows where to stop. 
But I shall have to tell you of the funny ac- 
tions of these same two mooruks with the 
carpenter. 

" When he was in the yard, making some 
alterations in their cage previous to their 
voyage to England, it was very amusing to 
see them squat down like dogs, watching 
the man with the greatest apparent interest 
in all his actions, enjoying the hammering 
noise and occasionally picking up a nail, 
which was not, in this instance, swallowed, 
but again dropped. One of them, however, 



THE EMEU. 223 

swallowed the carpenters oil-stone, which 
so alarmed the man that he thought the 
bird had committed suicide, and hurried to 
inform its master of the catastrophe ; but, 
to his surprise, he was told that if he did 
not take care the mooruks would swallow 
his hammer, nails and chisel. The birds 
kept close to the man until he went to his 
dinner, when they went about the yard as 
usual, resuming their position near him as 
soon as he returned to work, and not leav- 
ing it until he had finished. 

" They never appeared to take any notice 
of or be frightened at the jabiru, or gigantic 
crane, which was in the same yard, although 
that sedate, stately bird was not pleased at 
their intrusion. One day the jabiru was ob- 
served spreading his long wings and clatter- 
ing his beak opposite one of the mooruks, 
.as if in ridicule at its wingless condition ; 
the mooruk, on the other hand, was preen- 
ing its feathers and spreading out its funny 
little apology for wings, as if proud of dis- 
playing the stiff, horny shafts with which 
they were adorned. 

"As to swallowing things, the narrator 



224 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

says that the instant the mooruk saw an 
egg laid by a hen he darted upon it, and, 
breaking the shell, devoured it immediate- 
ly, as if he had been accustomed to eggs 
all his life. One morning the male mooruk 
was missing and was found in the bedroom 
up stairs drinking water out of the water- 
jug. There were some silkworms in the 
room at the time, but fortunately they were 
covered; otherwise, their owner thought, 
Mr. Mooruk would have made a meal of 
them. 

" When about the house, these birds dis- 
played extraordinary delight in a variety of 
diet. In a single day they satisfied their ap- 
petites with bones, whetstones, corks, nails 
and raw potatoes. One dived into thick 
starch and devoured a muslin cuff, while the 
other evinced a great partiality for nails and 
pebbles ; then they stole the jabiru's meat. 
If eggs and butter were left upon the 
kitchen-table, they were soon devoured 
by these marauders ; and when the servants 
were at their dinner in the kitchen, they had 
to be very watchful, for the long necks of 
the birds appeared between their arms, de- 



THE EMEU. 225 

vouring everything off the plates ; or if the 
dinner-table was left for a moment, they 
would mount upon it and clear all before 
them. At other times they stood at the 
table waiting for food to be given to them, 
although they did not hesitate to remove 
anything that was within their reach. 

" The mooruks, it seems, delighted in 
being washed by having buckets of water 
dashed over them, and would lie at full 
length upon the stones in the yard to enjoy 
this pleasure. On rising from their bath 
they began shaking themselves, and then 
dashed off, careering madly round the yard, 
apparently in great delight, and sending the 
other animals flying in all directions. Even 
the sedate jabiru seemed astonished at their 
wonderful capers and antics, and found it 
necessary to flap his huge wings and clatter 
.his beak louder than ever, as in the course 
of their gambols they nearly upset him. 

" But we really must leave the mooruks, ,, 
added the governess, " and attend to some 
other cousins of the ostrich. The rhea is 
also called ' the American ostrich/ as it is 
found in South America. It is very much 
15 



226 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

like the African ostrich in its speed, its mode 
of nest-making, and its propensity for eat- 
ing all kinds of strange substances. It is 
also said to eat little fishes when they are 
washed on shore, and amber when it can 
get it. ■ 

" This bird is about the size of an ordi- 
nary ostrich, and is covered with long gray 
feathers on the back and the tail. Indeed, 
it has no tail but feathers. The breast and 
other lower parts are white. Like the cas- 
sowary, it has a very funny way of getting 
itself along. It goes very swiftly, and seems 
assisted in its motion by a kind of tubercle 
behind, like a heel, upon which, on plain 
ground, it treads very securely. In its 
course it uses a very odd kind of action, 
lifting up one wing, which it keeps elevated 
for a time, till, letting it drop, it lifts up the 
other. It runs with such swiftness that the 
fleetest dogs are thrown out in the pursuit. 

" The rhea readily takes to the water, and 
will swim from island to island. When 
swimming very little of its body appears 
above water, and its neck is extended for- 
ward. Its progress is slow. 



THE EMEU. 227 

" Like all the rest of the species, these 
birds lay immense quantities of eggs, and 
when setting are quite fierce, attacking even 
a man on horseback should he pass too 
near them. The male bird is said to hatch 
the eggs, and afterward to take care of the 
young. 

"The Australian cassowary, or emeu, is 
noticeable for the regularity with which its 
hairy plumes are parted down the back ; 
the part looks as if made with a comb. 
The young emeus are very pretty. Their 
plumage, instead of the sober brown mixed 
with gray that forms the only tinting of the 
full-grown bird, is adorned with four black 
bands over the back and sides, divided from 
one another by a narrow line of white. These 
black stripes also pass up the neck, but not 
quite to the head, which is decorated with 
scattered black spots. The breast has two 
of these stripes. 

" Emeus, whether tame or wild, are said 
to show great curiosity at the approach of 
any object with which they are not ac- 
quainted. It was so with those of which 
I told you. A gentleman describes the 



228 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

amusing conduct of some of them which 
he saw in a field near Sydney. * Stopping/ 
he says, ' to observe one which was at a 
short distance from the fence, he immedi- 
ately came down to have a look at me. 
The second bird was some distance off. 
But, with their usual keenness of vision, on 
perceiving me viewing his companion, he 
came stalking down rapidly, and they both 
stared at me most attentively, stretching 
out their necks for the sake of making 
a nearer acquaintance, when, finding no 
result from our interview, and their curi- 
osity being satisfied, they quietly stalked 
away/ " 

Judging from the delight of Miss Har- 
son's little audience with her accounts of 
these overgrown members of the scraper 
family, it seemed probable that, if their de- 
sires had been satisfied, an ostrich, a casso- 
wary and an emeu would soon have been 
stalking through the carefully-kept grounds 
of Elmridge, much, no doubt, to Patrick's 
disgust and to the children's gratification. 
Papa was getting quite accustomed to being 
asked if various strange birds could not be 



THE EMEU. 



229 



introduced on the premises, and he was very 
much pleased to find that his little son and 
daughters were so deeply interested in nat- 
ural history. 




CHAPTER XIX. 

LONG-LEGGED GENTRY: THE HERON 

WHAT do you think," said Miss 
Harson to her little pupils, "of 
calling a family of birds by such a strange 
name as ' stalkers ' ? When you look, 
though, at their legs and their general 
appearance, you will not be surprised at 
this. They seem as though they were 
walking on stilts, as they all have very 
long legs, with which they wade far into 
the water, where they will .stand for hours 
on the watch for prey. Here is a picture 
of two herons ; they are classed as the 
head of this tribe. The one in the water 
is a white heron, or egret ; the other is the 
common heron. 

u The common heron is an awkward - 
looking bird with a large head and bill 
set upon a snaky neck, that, with the high- 

230 



THE HERON. 



231 



humped back, forms a curve like the figure 
8. The long legs are set far back in the 




COMMON HERON AND EGRET, OR WHITE HERON. 



body, the feet and claws are large, and the 
tail is very short. The prevailing color of 
the plumage is gray, at parts deepening 
into dark slate-color and bluish- black or 
fading off into white/ 



232 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" Herons, although great eaters, are al- 
ways thin. They live chiefly upon fish 
and other dwellers in the water, like all 
wading birds, but it is only in fine weather 
that they can get a plentiful supply. In 
cold or stormy weather the fish that before 
came into shallow water keep in the deep, 
as they find it to be the warmest. Frogs 
and lizards also seldom venture from their 
lurking-places, and the heron is obliged to 
support himself upon patience, and even 
to take up the weeds that grow in the 
water. At those times he contracts a con- 
sumptive disposition, which succeeding plen- 
ty is not able to remove ; so that the meagre 
glutton spends his time between want and 
riot. Hence, notwithstanding the care with 
which he takes his prey and the amazing 
quantity he devours, the heron is general- 
ly lean ; and, though his crop is usually 
found full, yet his flesh poorly covers his 
bones. 

" The heron is a shy bird, ungraceful in 
its movements, with a harsh voice and un- 
social habits. It will stand for hours in the 
water with its head drawn close in, ready to 



THE HERON. 233 

dart upon its finny prey and transfix it with 
its sharp beak. 'A real hermit of the woods 
and streams, consorting not even with its 
own kith and kin except during the breed- 
ing season, when it becomes lively, noisy 
and gregarious, forming those communities 
of birds, called ' heronries/ which were once 
guarded and preserved with jealous care 
for the sake of the sport which they afford- 
ed in hawking, and which still exist, although 
the royal game of hunting herons to death 
with trained hawks and falcons has happily 
fallen into disuse.' " 

"Weren't they cruel people who did that, 
Miss Harson?" asked Clara. 

" It was certainly a cruel sport/' was the 
reply, "but it was often practiced in old 
times by people who were not cruel in 
other respects. They had not learned to 
look upon the inferior animals as God's 
creatures and objects of his care. 

"The heron in this picture/' continued 
the governess, " is evidently watching for 
fish. It used to be thought among fisher- 
men that there was something in the feet 
and the legs of this bird which attracted 



234 



BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 



fish, and particularly eels. They were sup- 
posed to contain an oil which, if rubbed 
over a worm, would render it a sure bait. 
Ignorant people had such respect for the 
heron's fishing-powers that they believed 




THE FALCON (Falco). 

one of its feet, carried in the pocket, would 
bring success. 

■' Sometimes, however, the winged fisher 
himself gets caught. A story is told by 
an old fisherman who went down the lake 
one morning in a boat with his son to look 



THE HERON. 235 

at the lines they had set over-night, when 
he was struck by the unusual circumstance 
of seeing a heron rise from the water, reach 
a certain height, and then suddenly fall to 
the water again. This was repeated two 
or three times before they reached the 
spot, and was accompanied by much strug- 
gling and by the cries peculiar to the bird. 
When they came to the place, they found 
that the heron was hooked, and that a fine 
pike of about five or six pounds' weight 
lay on the surface of the water at the 
head of the line. Taking hold of the line, 
they began to haul the bird in ; but the 
nearer it came, the greater its struggles 
and cries, and at last it attacked the son,^ 
striking him on the side of the head with 
its long beak, drawing blood. However, 
it was secured and brought away alive. 
It appears that the heron had struck the 
fish after it had taken the bait, and in 
eating it had extricated the bait to which 
the hook was fixed and swallowed both 
together. Rising on the wing to escape, 
it could reach no farther than the end of 
the line, and was consequently forced back 



236 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

again. So that, you see," added Miss Har- 
son, "was heron-fishing, instead of pike- 
fishing. The bird must have been as- 
tonished enough to find himself in such a 
scrape. 

"The heron appears to be a bird of 
remarkably strange habits, and is said to 
prefer to perish with cold rather than seek 
a milder climate. ' In the different seasons 
of the year it constantly appears so melan- 
choly and insensible that it will remain alone 
and exposed in the worst weather on some 
stump in the midst of an inundated meadow, 
while the blongius (a smaller kind of heron) 
takes shelter in the thick herbage, and the 
bittern in the midst of the reeds.' 

"It is said to be a very timid bird, fleeing on 
the slightest approach of danger, and often 
imagining it where none exists, although its 
heavy wings and great length of neck and bill 
would certainly make it a formidable foe to 
any feathered enemy. The rook has an es- 
pecial spite against this long-legged coward, 
and always gets the better of him. Some 
one watched a large heron sailing heavily 
through the air ' with its long legs trailing 



THE HERON. 2$J 

behind like the ropes from a ship's stern/ 
trying to escape from an angry rook that 
persistently followed it. As it could not 
hope, however, to beat the rook at flying, it 
finally took refuge in a ditch. As soon as 
the rook saw this he perched himself on the 
branch of a tree that overhung its retreat, 
and began cawing. This reached the ear of 
two dusky friends who were far on their way 
to a neighboring feeding-field, and caused 
them to turn around and fly back to their 
crony in the tree. The three together then 
began to abuse the heron with all the power 
of their harsh voices ; and, apparently unable 
to stand it, the object of their persecution 
started, up and again rose into the air. 
No sooner was it fairly under way than 
the rooks followed in close pursuit ; and, 
although the heron turned and doubled and 
lifted up its unearthly voice and shrieked, as 
far as the eye could see the chase went 
on." 

" Did they catch him?" asked Malcolm, 
eagerly. 

"That is just where the story breaks off," 
replied Miss Harson, smiling — "as the 



238 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

birds pass out of sight; but it is related 
to show how little terror the heron's 
strength inspires. Courage avails more 
than strength with birds as well as with 
men. But, after all, the heron was not in- 
tended to fight. He has other work to do. 

" The heron makes its nest among the 
reeds and rushes, or on rocks near the 
coasts, or in tall trees. The nest is a large, 
loose affair like that of the rook, made of 
sticks and lined with wool. Like the rooks, 
herons build together in great numbers and 
occupy the same trees year after year. 
More than eighty nests were counted in 
one oak tree. It is said however, that the 
indolence of the birds prevents them from 
building a nest when they can get one that 
has been deserted by the rook or the owl. 
They usually enlarge and reline this second- 
hand house, and drive off the former owners 
should they attempt to return to their 
quarters. 

" From the solitary habits of the heron, 
it is quite probable that the great Ameri- 
can poet's ' Stanzas to a Waterfowl ' were 
addressed to this bird : 



THE HERON. 239 

" ' Whither, midst falling dew, 
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, 
Far through their rosy depths dost thou pursue 
Thy solitary way ? 

" * Vainly the fowler's eye 
Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, 
As, darkly painted on the crimson sky, 
Thy figure floats along. 

" ; Seek'st thou the plashy brink 
Of weedy lake or marge of river wide, 
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink 
On the chafed ocean-side ? 

" ' There is a Power whose care 
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast — 
The desert and illimitable air, 

Lone wandering, but not lost. 

" ' All day thy wings have fanned, 
At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere, 
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, 
Though the dark night is near. 

" ' And soon that toil shall end ; 
Soon shalt thou find a summer home and rest, 
And scream among thy fellows ; reeds shall bend 
Soon o'er thy sheltered nest. 

" ' Thou'rt gone — the abyss of heaven 
Hath swallowed up thy form; yet on my heart 
Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, 
And shall not soon depart. 

" * He who from zone to zone 
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight 
In the long way that I must tread alone 
Will lead my steps aright.' " 



CHAPTER XX. 

BROTHERS AND SISTERS: THE CRANE. 

AFTER the herons," said Miss Har- 
L son, " come the cranes ; and of this 
family there are said to be about one 
hundred varieties, most of which are found 
in temperate climates. " 

" This is a nicer-looking bird than the 
heron," said Malcolm as Miss Harson 
turned to a picture of the crane, "but it 
is standing in the same way, as if it was 
watching for a fish for its breakfast." 

" No doubt he is," replied his governess. 
"And you will see that the crane is better 
shaped than the heron, and the lower part 
of its plumage is not unlike that of the 
ostrich. It is the finest-looking member 
of its family, and, like all its relatives, it 
is a great fisher and a great eater. Prov- 
idence has furnished the bills of birds of 
this kind with peculiar nerves by which they 

240 



THE CRANE. 



24I 



are enabled to feel the food they seek at 
the bottom of marshes and shallows. As 
the length of the crane's neck, including 
the bill, is proportioned to that of its legs, 




THE CRANE (Grzis cinerea). 

it can seize its prey when at a considerable 
depth below the surface of the water. 

" These birds are migratory ; and they 
fly in large companies with a great deal 
of noise : 

16 



242 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" ' Vast clang is heprd 
Along the skies when, from incessant showers 
Escaping, and from winter's cold, the cranes 
Take wing and over ocean speed away.' 



" In flying they form themselves into a 
figure like a > , and in olden times many 
strange stories were told of them. They 
were said to fly aloft because they could 
have a better prospect before them, and 
for this purpose they chose a captain, 
whom the others followed. Certain birds 
were supposed to be placed behind 'to 
give signals by their manner of cry to 
range orderly in ranks and keep close to- 
gether in array ; and this they do by turns, 
each one in his course/ It was declared 
that they had sentinels to keep a strict 
watch all night, and that these stood on 
one foot and held a little stone within the 
other, which, by falling from it if they should 
chance to sleep, might awaken them. While 
these watched, all the rest were supposed 
to sleep with their heads tucked under their 
wings, resting sometimes on one foot and 
sometimes on the other. The captain was 
said to bear his head up aloft into the air 



THE CRANE. 243 

and give signal to the flock of what was to 
be done. 

" Cranes are often seen in large flocks in 
the marshes about the Cape of Good Hope, 
and some one who has observed them there 
says that ' he never saw a flock of them on 
the ground that had not some birds placed, 
apparently as sentinels, to keep a lookout 
while the others are feeding. These senti- 
nels stand on one leg, and at intervals 
stretch out their necks as if to observe 
that all is safe. On any notice of danger 
the whole flock are instantly on the wing/ 

" The crane differs from the heron in 
being courageous. A story is told of some 
cranes in Algiers who alighted near a spot 
where some soldiers were at work. Pres- 
ently a large eagle, swooping down on them, 
attempted to seize one, but the cranes de- 
fended and rescued their unfortunate com- 
panion. The eagle then tried to seize 
another, but the cranes defended them- 
selves vigorously, and a regular battle 
ensued. After it had raged for some time 
the ravens arrived and took the part of the 
cranes. The combat then went on with 



244 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

renewed fury, and there is no knowing what 
would have been the result if a soldier had 
not scattered the combatants by killing one 
of the cranes with his sword. They were 
so busy fighting that he got close to them 
without being noticed. But, after all, when 
the battle ended, the eagle succeeded in car- 
rying off one of the cranes in triumph." 

" Couldn't ever so many cranes beat one 
eagle ?" asked Malcolm. " Such great birds 
as they are, too !" 

" It seems not," replied Miss Harson, 
" though I agree with you, Malcolm, in 
thinking it rather strange. But we must 
remember the great power of the eagle and 
the terror that all other feathered creatures 
have of his ferocity. Cranes, too, do not fly 
rapidly. Flying seems to be hard work for 
them, and they are described as frequently 
alighting, in their flight, on the top of some 
tree, where they will stand for hours as if 
to rest. When their flight is high and 
silent, it is supposed by some people to 
be a sign of continued fine weather, as in 
cloudy, wet and stormy weather these birds 
fly low and are very noisy. 



THE CRAKE. 245 

"The crane is said to be devoid of fear or 
unconscious of danger, and equally at ease 
while wading in sight in the shallows of a 
nayigable river as in a far-off and inaccess- 
ible island pool ; equally fearless amid the 
branches of a home-skirting oak or elm as 
in the depths of the unfrequented or path- 
less forest. 

"The nests of these birds are generally 
found in solitary, waste and marshy places, 
though in Eastern countries they are said 
to prefer inhabited regions, and even to 
build on the tops of houses. They lay 
from three to five ejj^s, and in times of 
danger will carry them in their claws. 

" Cranes, like most birds of this family, 
have very comical ways, and those who 
watch them closely are well repaid for the 
trouble. The dance of the cranes is not a 
mere fable, and the Greeks are said to have 
taken one of their most popular dances 
from the movements of these birds. A 
naturalist says : ' The games and dances 
which the cranes indulge in among them- 
selves are not mere idle stories. They 
have been seen to form groups in various 



246 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

fashions, advance one toward another, make 
a kind of salutation, adopt the strangest 
postures — in a word, indulge in pantomimes 
both burlesque and amusing.' 

" They seem to be very affectionate birds. 
A story is told of two brown cranes belong- 
ing to a gentleman ; one of them died, and 
the remaining one refused to be com- 
forted. He so pined for his companion 
that he seemed likely to follow her in a 
short time, when his master fortunately 
thought of putting a large looking-glass 
into the aviary. As soon as the crane saw 
his own reflection in the glass he took it for 
granted that his beloved mate had returned 
to him; he stood close to the mirror, plumed 
his feathers and showed every sign of hap- 
piness. The mourner recovered his health 
and spirits, and spent nearly all his time 
before the looking-glass ; he lived for many 
years, and finally died from an accident. 

" I must tell you," continued Miss Har- 
son, " the story of 'The Cranes of Ibycus ' 
before we leave the subject. Ibycus was a 
Grecian poet quite famous in his day, and 
he was going to the Olympic games to con- 



THE CRANE. 2\J 

tend for the poet's prize, when he lost his 
way in a forest and fell into the hands of 
two robbers, who cruelly murdered him. 
As he was dying he turned his eyes toward 
heaven, and, seeing a flock of cranes pass- 
ing over the spot, he cried out, ' O ye bird- 
travelers, become the avengers of Ibycus!' 
The next day the robbers were quietly taking 
part in the Olympic contest, when the news of 
the murder, which arrived during the day, 
excited a feeling of sorrow among the as- 
sembly. No one suspected the murderers, 
though, until suddenly a flight of cranes 
passed over the place uttering loud cries. 
' Do you see the cranes of Ibycus ?' said 
one of the villains to his companion, with 
a laugh. Some persons standing near them 
heard this remark, and it passed quickly 
from one to another, until a general sus- 
picion was roused. The murderers were 
arrested and put to the torture until they 
confessed their guilt, when they were im- 
mediately put to death ; so that it seemed 
as if the cranes had really obeyed the dying 
command of Ibycus." 



CHAPTER XXI. 

A QUEER COUPLE: THE JAB1RU AND THE AD- 

JUTANT. 

JABIRU, or gigantic crane/" read 
Malcolm at the bottom of a colored 
plate. " What a beautiful bird, if he 
has such a long, funny bill !" 

" And see the pretty pink lilies with flat 
leaves like dishes near where he is stand- 
ing in the water," added Clara ; while lit- 
tle Edith stretched up on tiptoe " to look 
too." 

"This is the Australian crane," said Miss 
Harson — " the dignified bird, you remem- 
ber, who did not approve of the mooruks. 
The jabiru has a beautiful metallic brillian- 
cy of plumage, which is equal to that of 
the humming-birds, particularly in the blue- 
green feathers of the head and the neck, and 
it is also very graceful, though a little odd- 
looking at first sight. Its attitudes and bear- 

248 



THE JABIRU. 249 

ing, whether in a state of repose, walking 
rapidly or stalking gently over a lawn or 



THE JABIRU, AN AUSTRALIAN CRANE. 

yard with its measured, noiseless step, have 
a combination of grace and elegance, and it 



2 SO BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

displays an independence of manner well 
suited to a bird so wild and roaming in its 
habits. It is gentle and good-tempered, 
soon gets reconciled to captivity and seems 
to take pleasure in being noticed and ad- 
mired, remaining very quiet to be looked 
at, keeping its bright eyes upon the spec- 
tator, however, during the time. 

"The bill of the jabiru is of an immense 
size ; and, although the mandibles look so 
unwieldy, it picks up the smallest object with 
ease and clatters them together with a loud 
noise when catching flies. In doing this it 
remains very quiet, as if asleep ; and if a 
fly passes, it is snapped up in an instant. 
In a wild state these birds are to be found 
by salt-water creeks and lagoons busily en- 
gaged in fishing ; they are very voracious, 
and must devour an immense number of 
fishes and reptiles. 

" The jabiru is said to be an expensive 
pet, as it requires a pound and a half of 
meat every day, and this must always be 
fresh and good. When hungry, it looks 
for the cook, and if she has neglected its 
food looks into the kitchen, as if to remind 



THE JABIRU. 251 

her of the neglect, and waits quietly, but 
with a searching eye, during the time the 
meat is cut up, until it is fed. 

" The bird that lived where the mooruks 
were kept became quite as tame as they 
were. On the evening of its arrival it 
walked into the hall, gazed at the gas, 
which had just been lighted, and then 
walked up stairs, looking for a roosting- 
place, but, not liking that locality, came 
quietly down again and returned to the 
yard. It finally went to roost in the 
coach-house between the carriages, and 
afterward retired there regularly soon af- 
ter dark every evening. In the day- 
time it preferred that part of the yard 
where the sun was shining; and when- 
ever one of the mooruks came between 
it and the sun, it was very indignant, 
clattering its beak, ruffling its feathers 
and flapping its wings at them. If these 
hints were of no avail, with its beak it 
gave them a blow which soon made them 
walk away. 

" ' When the jabiru was first placed in the 
yard, where some poultry were kept, it 



252 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

stared at the fowls, and they ran away on 
his approach, although he did not make the 
least attempt to molest them ; and when 
striding round the yard, all the poultry fled 
before him, although it did not appear to be 
an intentional chase on his part. There 
happened to be in the yard a pugnacious, 
fussy little bantam-cock who would not 
permit the intrusion of any stranger, and 
on seeing the jabiru he started up, with 
expanded and fluttering wings and ruffled 
feathers, in a violent state of excitement, 
cackling and screaming most vehemently 
and making efforts as energetic as so di- 
minutive a bird was capable of to frighten 
and drive him out of the yard. 

" ' The jabiru, with his keen, bright eyes, 
regarded the little fluttering object with 
cool contempt and walked about as be- 
fore ; the bantam followed. At last the 
jabiru turned and strode after the conse- 
quential little creature, as if to crush it 
under his feet, when the bantam, seeing 
matters taking this serious turn, made off 
as fast as possible — like all little bullies — 
and did not again venture to defy so for- 



THE ADJUTANT 2$ 3 

midable an opponent. In a few days the 
jabiru became quite domesticated among 
the poultry, and they had got over their 
fear of him/ " 

"What a nice little bird !" said Edith, 
who had listened with great interest to 
the account of the jabiru, and who ap- 
peared to feel quite an affection for it. 

The other children laughed ; and Miss 
Harson said kindly, 

"Your * little bird,' dear, is quite as tall 
as Malcolm, and I am afraid that you would 
run away if you saw it, which you are not 
likely to do." 

" Oh," exclaimed Clara, " do look at this 
funny creature with a great heavy bill and 
a pouch under his neck !" 

"That," said the governess, "is another 
* stalker ' — the adjutant, which at a distance 
bears some resemblance to a man in a white 
waistcoat and dark trousers. It has an 
absurd-looking head, which seems as if it 
was made of wood, and the bill looks like 
two long sticks, with which the bird makes 
a loud clattering noise in order to clean 
them. A pouch or bag hangs down under 



254 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

the chin ; which circumstance seems to 
connect it with the pelican family. 

" These birds are found in great numbers 
on the banks of some of the rivers of Bengal 
and in Africa. The natives of India believe 
them to be inhabited by the souls of departed 
Brahmins, and for this reason they never 
molest them. When Bishop Heber — who 
has written a very interesting account of his 
travels in that country — landed in Calcutta, 
the adjutant was the first bird he saw there ; 
and he says of it: * In the morning, as the 
day broke, we were much struck with the 
singular spectacle before us. Besides the 
usual apparatus of a place of arms, the 
walks, roofs and ramparts of the fort 
swarmed with gigantic birds— the hurgila 
(their Indian name), larger than the largest 
turkey and twice as tall as the heron, which 
in some respects they much resemble, except 
that they have a large blue-and-red pouch 
under the lower bill, in which, we are told, 
they keep such food as they cannot eat at 
the moment. These birds share with the 
jackals, who enter the fort through the 
drains, the post of scavenger; but, unlike 



THE ADJUTANT 25$ 

them, instead of shunning mankind day and 
night, they lounge about with perfect fear- 



THE ADJUTANT (Ciconia argala). 

lessness all day long, and almost jostled us 
from our paths.' 

" The adjutant is as great a glutton as the 



256 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

heron, and nothing comes amiss to its all- 
accommodating stomach. A leg of mutton 
and a litter of five kittens, swallowed 
whole, proved equally acceptable, with the 
additional sauce of earth, bones and hair 
picked up between-times. Thus the adju- 
tant is most useful as a scavenger in the 
neglected streets of Oriental cities. 

" Here is a little story about this bird," 
continued Miss Harson, smiling in answer 
to the three pairs of inquiring eyes : "A 
young adjutant about five feet high was 
brought up in the family of an English 
resident at Sierra Leone, and walked about 
the house very much at his ease. He was 
usually fed in the great hall where the 
family meals were taken, and he got into 
the habit of presenting himself daily in that 
apartment at dinner-time. He would often 
arrive before any of the guests or the family 
appeared, and would place himself behind 
his master s chair. The servants had to 
watch him narrowly, but, in spite of their 
care, he would sometimes help himself 
without leave. One day the adjutant 
seized a whole boiled chicken and swallowed 



THE ADJUTANT. 2$? 

it in an instant, having so elastic a throat 
that a hare or a small fox will go down 
without difficulty." 

The adjutant was pronounced "very 
funny," but no one seemed to want him for 
a pet, thinking him more useful in his own 
home. 

17 



CHAPTER XXII. 

STORKS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" "1 T ERE is quite a different picture from 
JLl those we usually have for our 
birds," said Miss Harson. — " Let me see 
if you can explain it, Malcolm." 

"Why, it's the top of a rough-looking 
tower or chimney with two birds that look 
like the jabiru on top of it, one of them 
standing on one leg and one on two legs." 

"The birds are storks," was the reply, 
" and they do look like the jabiru, for they 
belong to the same family. The stork, 
however, is white, with black quill-feathers 
in the wings. That is the nest on top of 
the chimney. 

"This bird is the most domestic and 
agreeable of the whole heron family, and 
is beloved and cared for wherever it makes 
its appearance. It has immense wings, 

258 



STORKS AND THEIR WAYS. 



259 



measuring seven feet across when they 
are fully spread, and with these great 
wings it seems to fly all over the world. 
It^always leaves Europe in the autumn for 




STORKS ON NEST. 



a warmer climate, and is so very regular 
in its flittings that the prophet Jeremiah 
says, 'The stork knoweth her appointed 
time/ and the poet asks : 

" ' Who bids the stork, Columbus-like, explore 

Heavens not his own, and worlds unknown before? 
Who calls the council, states the certain day ? 
Who forms the phalanx, and who points the way ?' 

" The storks have long and rather thick 



26o BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

necks and long and slender legs. They 
belong chiefly to the warmer climates of 
the old continent, where they mostly re- 
side in marshy places, feeding on fishes, 
frogs, lizards, and sometimes on small 
quadrupeds and birds. Some of the spe- 
cies are of gigantic size, and these are 
omnivorous feeders, like vultures eating 
dead animals and any kind of garbage, as 
well as vegetable substances. 

■" The stork is said to be a very silent 
bird ; the only noise it ever makes is a 
peculiar rattling with the bill, something 
like the sound made by castanets. When 
it is angry or agitated the head is thrown 
back, so that the lower jaw appears upper- 
most, the bill lies flat on the back, and the 
two mandibles, or jaws, striking violently 
together, produce this clattering noise. Be- 
fore they leave Europe in the autumn, the 
storks assemble in great numbers and ap- 
pear to hold consultations, and then this 
noise is very loud and continuous : 

" ' The stork assembly meet for many a day, 
Consulting deep and various, ere they take 
Their arduous voyage through the liquid sky/ 



STORKS AND THEIR WA K9. 



26l 



" They go in large flocks 
and betake themselves to 
Africa and Asia. As they 
are most useful as de- 
stroyers of reptiles, they 
receive a warm welcome 
wherever they go, and 
are allowed to build their 
nests where they like. 
They become very famil- 
iar and fearless, often tak- 
ing up their quarters in 
towers and making their 
large flat nests upon the 
chimneys and other high 
parts of buildings. These 
nests are made of sticks 
and twigs on the outside, 
and are lined with straw 
and dry herbage. Three 
or four greenish-white 
eggs are laid, and the 
young are so carefully 
tended by the parents that 
the stork has become an 
emblem of parental love. 




the stork {Ciconia 
alba). 



262 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" A stork-mother has been seen to stand 
for a long time and watch her nestlings, 
as though they were the most interesting 
objects in the world. She had built her 
nest on the top of a ruin, and her awk- 
ward-looking babies would occasionally put 
their heads out to see what was going on 
below them. Mamma Stork made no ob- 
jection to this, unless some stroller ap- 
proached too near her nursery, when she 
always rose up and pushed the youngsters 
down out of sight. Then she would sit 
gazing around as though there were no 
young storks in existence, snapping her 
bill until the intruder was out of sight. 

"When the town of Delft, in Holland, 
was half destroyed by fire, in 1536, a stork 
who had been- absent for some time look- 
ing for food returned to her nest to find 
in flames the house on which it was built. 
At first she tried to get her young ones 
away from the burning building, but the 
poor little things could not fly; and, find- 
ing that it was impossible to save them, the 
mother-bird covered them over with her 
body and stayed there to be burned with 



STORKS AND THEIR WA VS. 263 

her nestlings rather than leave them. It 
is said that the young storks return the 
affection lavished upon them, and show their 
gratitude by taking care of their parents 
in their old age, even carrying them on 
their backs when they are unable to fly. 

" ' The stork's an emblem of true piety, 

Because, when age has seized and made his dam 
Unfit for flight, the grateful young one takes 
His mother on his back, provides her food, 
Repaying thus her tender care of him 
Ere he was fit to fly/ 

" The stork was particularly respected by 
the Jews for this reason ; they called it cha- 
seda — which in English means ' pity ' or 
* mercy/ — from the tenderness shown by 
the young to the old birds. 

" In the Mohammedan town of Fez, on 
the coast of Barbary, there is a fine hos- 
pital built for the sole purpose of nursing 
sick cranes and storks and of burying them 
w T hen dead. The respect which is there 
shown them arises from the belief that 
storks are human beings in that form — 
men from some distant islands who at 
certain seasons of the year assume the 



264 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

shape of these birds that they may visit 
Barbary and return at a fixed time to their 
own country, where they again take their 
own form." 

" Did any one ever see this hospital ?" 
asked Malcolm ; while his little sisters evi- 
dently thought that the storks and the 
cranes were to be seen there lying in 
little white beds " all in a row," like the 
sick children they had visited at a hos- 
pital in the city. 

" Yes," was the reply ; " travelers are 
allowed to visit it. And there is another 
hospital for disabled animals in India, where 
people have the same strange ideas. The 
Turks, too, have a great respect for the 
stork, and throughout the whole country, 
wherever he goes on his summer visits, 
he is treated with high consideration. They 
call him their friend and their brother, and 
they fully believe that he will not build 
his nest on a Christian roof. ' In the 
Turkish quarter/ says a traveler, ' they 
were met with in all directions, strutting 
about most familiarly, mixing with the peo- 
ple in the streets, but rarely entering the 



STORKS AND THEIR WAYS. 265 

parts of the town inhabited by the Greeks 
or Armenians, by whom, possibly, they may 
be occasionally disturbed. Nothing can be 
more interesting than the view of an as- 
semblage of their nests. Divided as the 
storks always are into pairs, sometimes 
only the long, elastic neck of one of them 
is to be seen peering from its cradle of 
nestlings, the male standing by on one of 
his long, slim legs and watching with every 
sign of the closest affection. Other couples, 
on the adjacent walls, are fondly entwining 
their pliant necks and mixing their long 
bills ; while from the holes and crannies 
of the walls below the stork's nest thou- 
sands of little blue turtle-doves flit in all 
directions, keeping up an incessant cooing 
by day and night/ 

"In Holland boxes are often placed on 
the roofs for storks to build in, and it is 
thought to be a fortunate thing for the 
household when the box is occupied. The 
Germans look upon the stork as a sort of 
guardian angel, and fully believe that the 
particular bird which builds its nest on 
their chimney is deeply interested in their 



266 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

household affairs. German children all be- 
lieve that the good stork brings their baby- 
brothers and sisters on his back from among 
the lily-buds by the river, and it is thought 
that if any wrong is committed in a house 
the stork is sure to know it. It is such a 
very well-behaved bird that it is supposed 
to have a particular hatred to evil-doers. 
" Queer stories are told of the stork's 
gratitude for kindness, and among others 
there is an account of a pair whose young 
ones were every year destroyed by a huge 
serpent that contrived to work itself into 
the nest. But one year the unfortunate 
parents returned from their winter trip 
with a bird that had never been seen 
there before : it was shorter than a stork 
and had a great sharp beak like a sword. 
When the nestlings were of a nice size for 
eating, the serpent appeared, as usual ; 
but the strange bird was on the lookout 
for him, and there was a terrible battle, 
in which the reptile was killed. But the 
brave bird had been so severely bitten 
by the poisonous snake that all its feathers 
fell off. The grateful storks would not 



STORKS AND THEIR WAYS. 267 

leave their benefactor, but took care of 
him, and put off their flitting until his 
feathers grew again and he could go with 
them, when the whole party flew off to- 
gether. 

"A more improbable story is that of the 
stork that had its leg broken by a stone 
that was thrown at it. The poor bird got 
to its nest as best it could, and lay there 
helpless. The woman of the house saw 
its wretched plight and set its leg, feeding 
it until it was quite cured ; so that when the 
season for leaving came, it was able to fly 
away with its companions. In the spring 
this same stork returned to its old quarters 
— the woman who had tended it knew it at 
once by its lame way of walking — and, 
approaching her with many gesticulations, 
from its bill it dropped at her feet the finest 
diamond it had been able to pick up in its 
travels." 

" Miss Harson," said Clara, very gravely, 
" do you think that story is true ?" 

"No, my dear, I do not," was the reply; 
" but, as animals often show gratitude for 
kindness, it is quite likely that so intelligent 



268 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

a bird as the stork is capable of feeling it 
too. Another stork is said to have brought 
with him every spring a root of ginger, 
which he presented to the master of the 
house where he dwelt; and some one tells 
this funny little narrative: 'There was an 
ancient stork that had nested for I don't 
know how many years on one particular 
house. This well-bred bird never returned 
in the spring without stalking about before 
the door and clattering his bill till the 
master came out, when Stork clattered 
more than ever, as much as to say, " The 
top of the morning to you, sir ! Here I am 
again." To which the master would reply, 
" Ah, old fellow ! how are you ?" When au- 
tumn came, the same ceremony was gone 
through, the stork clattering " Good-bye, 
Your Honor!" and the master saying, "A 
pleasant journey to you, old boy !" 

" The disposition of this bird is said to be 
particularly mild — neither shy nor savage. 
It will become very tame and is often 
trained to live in gardens, which it clears 
of insects and reptiles. It has a grave, 
even a mournful, expression, but this does 



STOCKS AND THEIR WAYS. 269 

not appear to denote its character, as it is 
quite capable of joining in scenes of gayety, 
even taking part in and imitating the frolics 
of children. A tame stork was actually 
seen in a garden playing 'hide-and-seek' 
with the children of the family ; it would 
run in its turn when touched, and kept as 
clear of the child whose turn it was to pur- 
sue the rest as if it had been gifted with 
human intelligence. 

" On the coast of Africa and in the Cape 
Verd Islands there are some beautiful 
storks called - sea-peacocks/ They are 
about four feet high, and are remarkable for 
their light and elegant shape and for the 
variety and the grace of their attitudes. 
Their color is generally black mixed with 
white, and their heads are adorned with a 
tuft of short velvety black feathers. When 
they run, they stretch out their wings and 
go very swiftly ; but the tame ones walk 
about very deliberately among other 
poultry, and will let people come as close 
to them as they like. When they go to 
rest they select a high wall, on which they 
perch in the style of the peacock.'' 



27 O BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

There was a great excitement among the 
children over the stork that played " hide- 
and-seek. ,, They agreed that they would 
like to secure such a playmate, but Miss 
Harson laughingly told them that it was 
of no use, as such a bird was not to 
be had. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THREE MORE STALKERS: THE IBIS, THE 
SNIPE AND THE WOODCOCK. 

THE ibis," said Miss Harson, "■ is an- 
other peculiar bird of the heron 
family, and I want you particularly to 
notice the strange shape of his bill in the 
picture." 

The children saw that, besides being 
very long, it was curved like a sickle, and 
that in shape the bird resembled the 
stork. 

"The Egyptian ibis," continued the gov- 
erness, " is of a reddish-white color and 
over a yard in length. It has very long, 
slender legs, and these and its peculiar 
bill give the bird an extremely awkward 
appearance. It is occasionally found in 
some countries of Europe during the sum- 
mer months, but migrates, on the approach 

271 



272 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

of cold weather, to India and Egypt. In 
this last country it was called the sacred 
ibis, and was worshiped before Christian- 
ity reached the Egyptians. " 

" What made them worship such an awk- 
ward bird ?" asked Malcolm. " What good 
did it do them ?" 

"They fancied that it did a great deal," 
was the reply ; " but it is known to destroy 
poisonous serpents and other reptiles, and 
this was probably one of the reasons for 
its worship. Another cause is said to 
be its fancied resemblance to the moon, 
from the curved and crescent shape of 
its beak. The moon was an object of 
worship among many heathen nations in 
the ancient times, especially among the 
Egyptians, from the fancy among them 
that the moon in its crescent-form re- 
sembled the boat or ark in which Noah 
and his family were saved from the Flood. 

"Job is speaking of this idolatry when 
he says : ' If I beheld the sun when it 
shined, or the moon walking in bright- 
ness, and my heart hath been secretly 
enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my 



THE IBIS. 



273 



hand ; this also were an iniquity to be 
punished/* 

" This bird also formed part of the idol- 
abominations alluded to in the vision of the 
prophet Ezekiel, and St. Paul accuses the 
Gentiles of 'changing the glory of the un- 




TiiE sacred ibis [Ibis leligiosa). 

corruptible God into an image made like 
to corruptible man and to birds/ 

" The ibis is found in the countries bor- 
dering on the river Nile, and it comes down 
from Ethiopia when the river rises. For 
this reason the Arabs call it 'Father of 

* Job xxxi. 26, etc. 
18 



274 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

the Sickle/ because the fruits of the har- 
vest come from the overflowing of the 
Nile. 'Looking upon the ibis, therefore, 
as a type or emblem of the moon, and 
again associating its appearance on the 
banks of the river Nile at a season re- 
minding them of the approach of those 
abundant crops produced by the inunda- 
tions of their sacred river, we can easily 
see the reason why the priests of the 
country held it up to the ignorant people 
as a bird sent from heaven, and therefore 
to be worshiped in life and honored in 
death/ 

" Here are some lines," continued Miss 
Harson, "in which the ibis is mentioned 
in connection with Egypt and Nubia: 

" ' Far down in Nubia's waste gray temples stand, 

Tottering with age, each doorway choked with sand, 
And farther on, in groups against the sky, 
Long lines of pyramids ascend on high, 
By all forsaken save by beasts of prey 
And that dark bird — a god in ancient day — 
Whose voice still sounds, as shadowy twilight falls, 
Like a ghost's wail along the lonely walls.' 

" Do any of you know what a mummy 
is?" asked the governess. 



THE IBIS. 



275 



Malcolm said that he did ; he had seen 
mummies at the museum. 

Miss Harson explained, for the benefit 
of "the little ones, that a mummy was a 
dead body preserved with spices and 
gums and having a 
great many folds of 
cloth wrapped round 
and round it. 

"And now/' said 
she, " you will under- 
stand when I tell you 
that the ibis, when 
dead, was made into 
mummies with pre- 
cious ointments and 
spices, and buried by the Egyptians with as 
grand funeral ceremonies as were perform- 
ed for kings and princes. These embalmed, 
or mummied, ibises are sometimes found 
now in costly tombs ; and they show what 
heathen folly could do in the way of creat- 
ure-worship." 

When this strange bird had been wonder- 
ed over, Miss Harson turned to a picture 
of some plump-looking little birds with the 




MUMMY- CASES. 



2/6 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

same immense bills in proportion to their 
size, and the same long thin legs, as the 
large birds they had been considering. 

" These are snipes and woodcocks/' said 
the governess, " and they belong to the 
same family, in the way of bills and legs, 
which entitle them to be called stalkers, as 
the herons and cranes. They are found on 
both sides of the ocean, in Great Britain 
and in our own country as well as in other 
places, and are great favorites as game- 
birds. 

" Snipes are very retiring in their hab- 
its, and like the neighborhood of swamps 
and bogs ; they also frequent ditches and 
brooks, where they can cover themselves 
from sight with a thick growth of rushes 
and rank herbage. ' They seek their food 
in a quiet, sedate manner, and singly. 
Thrusting their long, delicately-sensitive, 
probe-like bills into the sand or mud, they 
suck up, as it were, the worms and larvae 
while the bill is yet immersed. They do 
not appear to pick up insects on the sur- 
face, or to search the open parts except by 
night. When alarmed in their retreats, 



THE SNIPE. 277 

they do not fly up, but generally sit close 
and motionless/ 

" The common snipe is only about eleven 
inches long, and its bill is twice as long as 
its head. Its plumage is black and brown, 



THE SNIPE (Scolopax). 

mixed with a little dusky gray and light red. 
This bird has a peculiar cry, which has been 
compared to the distant bleating of a goat 
on the hillside ; it is thought to be made by 
a quick motion of the wings while flying. 



278 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

* Toward evening it leaves its marshy 
couch and rises to a great height in the air, 
where it continues to wheel in circuitous 
flight for a considerable time, mostly con- 
fining itself within the limits of a large 
circle and uttering almost continually a 
loud, sharp, monosyllabic cry like " Chic ! 
chic ! chick-a chick-a !" When forced to 
its wings, the bird, on rising from the 
ground, utters a shrill cry like a scream: 

" * The snipe flies screaming from the marshy verge, 
And towers in airy circles o'er the wood, 
Still heard at intervals ; and oft returns, 
And stoops as bent to alight ; then wheels aloft 
With sudden fear, and screams and stoops again, 
Her favorite glade reluctant to forsake.' 

" The snipe's nest is made of a few pieces 
of dead grass or dry herbage, in a hollow on 
the ground or beside a tuft of grass or 
rushes. There are four pale-greenish or 
yellowish eggs spotted at one end with 
brown. The nests are generally found in 
grassy pastures or lonely moors. 

" The woodcock is not unlike the snipe, 
though stouter and larger. Its habits 
are very much the same. It, too, inhabits 



THE WOODCOCK. 



279 



marshy places, moors and woods, rests 
generally by day and seeks its food at 
night by thrusting its long bill into the mud 




THE WOODCOCK (Scolopax rusticola). 

or earth. Like the snipe, it seeks a warmer 
or colder climate, according to the season. 
British farmers are said to watch its move- 
ments with much interest, believing that 

" * The woodcock's early visit and abode 

For long continuance in our temperate clime 
Foretell a liberal harvest.' 



28o BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" The head and the bill of the woodcock 
have been compared to the bowl and the 
stem of a pipe, and in looking at the picture 
of the bird we see that the resemblance is 
quite strong. ' The colors of the wood- 
cock's plumage are sober and subdued, 
like those of the partridge ; but their gen- 
eral harmony and the grace and delicacy of 
the pencilings render it as beautiful a bird 
as it is a highly- valued one for the table/ 

"The woodcock does not fly so rapidly 
as the snipe, but in a more regular, sedate 
kind of way ; and it walks with a great deal 
of ease, getting over the ground very quick- 
ly when there is occasion for it. It readily 
goes into the water, but is not particularly 
fond of wading, as its food principally con- 
sists of the common earth-worm. 

"This bird's nest is sometimes found on 
the edge of thickets, and sometimes in open 
places. It is only a slight hollow lined with 
small twigs and leaves, and there are usual- 
ly four yellowish-white, spotted eggs.. 

" In the wood which gives them their 
name — * woodcock ' — through the long 
sunny hours, 



THE WOODCOCK. 28 1 

'* ' There rest they till the closing day 
The signal gives to seek their prey 
Where the long worm and shrouded fly 
Close in their marshy burrows lie, 
Then issue forth by Nature's power 
To banquet through the midnight hour, 
Till the gray dawn their ardor daunt, 
And warn them to their woodland haunt. 
Mysterious power, which guides by night 
Through the dark wood the illumined sight, 
Which prompts them by the unerring smell 
The appointed prey's abode to tell, 
Bore with long bill the investing mould, 
And feel, and from the secret hold 
Dislodge, the reptile spoil ! But who 
Can look creation's volume through, 
And not fresh proofs at every turn 
Of the Creator's mind discern — 
The end to which his actions tend; 
The means adjusted to the end ; 
The reasoning thought; the effective skill; 
And, ruling all, the Almighty's will?' " 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

A GREAT DEAL OF BILL: THE TOUCAN. 

HERE," said Miss Harson, "is some- 
thing that looks like an immense 
bill with a small bird attached to it. Is it 
not a funny object ?" 

" ' Funny ' is not the right word," thought 
the children as they burst into peals of 
laughter over the toucan's picture ; while 
Malcolm asked in quite a knowing way, 
" Is he another ' stalker/ Miss Harson ?" 
" No," was the reply, " and he does not 
properly belong here at all ; but I have 
been reading some interesting descriptions 
of him to-day, and I thought that on ac- 
count of his enormous bill he might be 
introduced after the heron family. The 
toucan really belongs to the pie species, 
though he is found only in tropical re- 
gions. A great many of these birds are 

282 



THE TOUCAN. 283 

seen on the banks of the Amazon, of a 
larger size than elsewhere, and having on 
the head a curious sort of crest like a 
curled twig. Instead of feathers, this crest 
is formed of thin horny plates of a lus- 
trous black and curled up at the ends 




THE TOUCAN {Rhamphastos Ariel). 

These plates are said to resemble shav- 
ings of steel or of ebony. 

" There are several different species of 
toucans, and the usual colors of their plum- 
age are black, white and red. They gen- 
erally appear in little flocks of six or seven, 
and on retiring to rest one is appointed to 
watch during the night. 'While they are 



284 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

asleep he sits perched at the top of a tree 
above them, and makes a continual noise 
resembling ill-articulated sounds, moving 
also his head during the whole time to the 
right and left. For this reason the South 
Americans give to the toucan the name of 
" preacher-toucan. " ' 

"These birds do not fly easily, and seem 
to find being on the wing rather hard work; 
they manage, however, to elevate themselves 
into the tops of the highest trees, where they 
are particularly fond of perching, and keep 
up a constant commotion. ' Sometimes a 
little band of four or five is seen perched 
for hours together amongst the topmost 
branches of high trees, giving vent to their 
remarkably loud, shrill, yelping cries, one 
bird, mounted higher than the rest, acting, 
apparently, as leader of the inharmonious 
chorus ; but two of them are often heard 
yelping alternately and in different notes.' 

" The toucan lives chiefly on fruit and is 
especially fond of grapes. If these are 
plucked from the stalk and thrown to it 
one by one, the bird will catch them with 
great dexterity before they fall to the 



THE TOUCAN. 285 

ground. It is quite amusing to read that 
the toucan is constantly changing its quar- 
ters to follow up the different fruits as they 
ripen, going northward or southward as the 
crop promises best. When tamed, it is said 
to eat anything that is offered it. 

" But sad stories are told of the toucans 
in regard to their preying upon smaller 
birds, of which they are said to destroy 
immense quantities. That dreadful bill 
makes them a terror to other species, 
which they attack and drive from their 
nests, even devouring their eggs and 
young ones before their eyes. The lat- 
ter they draw out of holes with the aid 
of their long bill, or bring nests and all 
to the ground together. 

"There is a bird called the 'bee-eater' 
which builds so solid a nest of clay that 
neither time nor the elements seem to make 
any impression on it ; but even this is not 
safe from the attacks of the toucans. They 
take the opportunity when the clay is some- 
what softened by rain to batter it with con- 
tinued strokes of their bills, that they may 
get at and devour the eggs and young." 



286 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" I don't like toucans now," said little 
Edith, looking disgustedly at the huge bill ; 
" it is so wicked of them to eat up the poor 
little birds !" 

"Who eats chickens, I should like to 
know ?" asked Malcolm. 

His little sister looked quite troubled as 
she replied, after a moment's thought, 

"Well, I don't eat 'em raw." 

Edith could not see why every one should 
laugh, and Miss Harson smiled kindly on 
her little pupil as she continued : 

"We shall have to forgive them, dear, 
when we remember that they do not know 
any better. Sometimes, too, they are at- 
tacked themselves. Their nests are built 
in the holes of trees, sometimes made by 
themselves, after the fashion of the wood- 
pecker, and sometimes found ready made. 
The toucan takes excellent care of its nur- 
sery, but it has many enemies to guard 
against — ■ not only birds, men and serpents, 
but a numerous train of monkeys, still more 
prying, mischievous and hungry than all the 
rest. The toucan, however, sits in its hole, 
defending the entrance with its great beak ; 



THE TOUCAN. 287 

and if the monkey venture to offer a visit 
of curiosity, the toucan gives him such a 
welcome' that he is soon glad to make his 
escape/ 

" The flesh of this bird is considered very 
delicate ; and this and the beauty of its 
plumage, particularly the feathers of the 
breast, make it much sought after. The 
South American Indians pluck off the skin 
of this part and glue it to their cheeks ; 
they consider these ornaments highly be- 
coming. 

"In eating, the toucans use their huge 
bills with great dexterity. They seize any 
morsels w T hich are presented to them with 
the point, throw them upward, and, opening 
their mouths, receive them in their gullet. 
If they seek their food on the ground, they 
usually take it up sideways, fling it into the 
air, and catch it in the same way. 

" Here is a little account of a tame tou- 
can that was found seated gravely on a 
low branch close to the road, and which 
proved to be a runaway pet bird. The 
poor thing was in a half-starved condition, 
but regained its health and spirits after a 



288 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

few days of good living, and became a very 
amusing pet. 

" [ I allowed Tocano,' says his master, * to 
go free about the house, contrary to my 
usual practice with pet animals ; he never, 
however, mounted my working-table after 
a smart correction which he received the 
first time he did so. He used to sleep on 
the top of a box in a corner of the room in 
the usual position of these birds — namely, 
with the long tail laid right over the back 
and the beak thrust underneath the wing. 
He ate of everything that we eat — beef, 
turtle, fish, farina, fruit — and was a constant 
attendant at our table, a cloth spread on a 
mat. His appetite was most ravenous, and 
his powers of digestion were quite wonder- 
ful. 

" ' He got to know the meal-hours to a 
nicety, and we found it very difficult, after 
the first week or two, to keep him away 
from the dining-room, where he had become 
very impudent and troublesome. We tried 
to shut him out by enclosing him in the 
back-yard, which was separated by a high 
fence from the street on which our front 



THE TOUCAN. 289 

door opened ; but he used to climb the 
fence and hop round by a long circuit to 
the dining-room, making his appearance 
with the greatest punctuality as the meal 
was placed on the table. 

" * He afterward acquired the habit of 
rambling about the street near our house, 
and one day he was stolen and given up 
for lost. But two days afterward he step- 
ped through the open doorway at dinner- 
hour with his old gait and sly, magpie-like 
expression, having escaped from the house 
where he had been guarded by the person 
who had stolen him, and which was situated 
at the farther end of the village/ ' 

" Can toucans talk, Miss Harson ?" asked 
Clara, evidently taken with the idea of a 
" magpie-like expression." 

" Not that I have ever heard of," was the 
laughing reply, " and really, on the whole, 
dear, I think it is a good thing that there 
are no more talkers in the world." 

19 



CHAPTER XXV. 



FISHING FOR A LIVING: THE PELICAN, THE 
CORMORANT AND THE GANNET. 

THE pelican family," said Miss Har- 
son, " are not handsome, but their 
peculiarities make them quite interesting. 
Pelicans, cormorants, gannets, the frigate- 
bird and the tropic- 
bird are all classed 
together, but their 
habits are very dif- 
ferent. They all feed 
on fish, however, and 
are all very voracious. 
They nestle on rocks, 
the pelican. bushes or trees, form 

a clumsy, ill-constructed nest and lay a 
small number of bluish-white eggs." 

The children pronounced the pelicans 
" dreadful-looking birds ;" and their bills, 

290 




THE PELICAN, 29 1 

with a great pouch underneath, certainly 
did look very formidable. 

" This enormous bill," continued Miss 
Harson, "is fifteen inches long and has on 
the under-side a bag, or pouch, reaching 
the whole length of the bill to the neck. 
It is not covered with feathers, but with a 
short downy substance as smooth and soft 
as satin. 

"The plumage of the pelican is gener- 
ally of a light and delicate flesh-color, va- 
ried with occasional darker tinges, and the 
pouch is of a bright straw-color. In the 
island of Manilla these birds are rose-col- 
ored, and in some other places they are 
brown. They are found in the West In- 
dies and in Asia as well as in Europe, and 
in some parts of America. 

" For so large a bird — six feet from the 
point of the bill to the end of the tail — the 
pelican is wonderfully light, its bones and 
feathers, as well as the space between the 
skin and the flesh, being all reservoirs of 
air ; on this account it frequently rises in the 
air to an immense height. But pelicans 
are represented as very inactive birds ; so 



292 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

that nothing but their gluttony can exceed 
their indolence. It is only hunger that 
rouses them to exert themselves ; and, as 
they get their living by fishing, their very 
lightness prevents them from diving under 
the water. But that wonderful instinct with 
which the Creator has endowed his creat- 
ures comes to their aid and teaches them 
how to gain their object. 

"'The pelicans, aware of their inability 
to catch their prey under water, in conse- 
quence of this buoyancy, adopt an equally 
certain mode of supplying themselves. As- 
sembling in flocks, they unite their forces, 
and, surrounding a school of fish, strike the 
water with their wings and with the noisy 
splashing frighten and drive them into a 
narrower compass ; so that the school at 
length becomes much compressed. The 
upper part is thus raised by the lower, 
when, at a certain signal, all the pelicans 
strike the water again and in the general 
confusion fill their pouches, then devour 
the contents at their leisure/ " 

" How funny," exclaimed Malcolm, " for 
a bird to have a bag to go fishing with !" 



THE PELICAN. 293 

" It must indeed be a comical sight ; and 
the Russians — who have excellent oppor- 
tunities of observing their habits, as im- 
mense flights of these birds arrive every 
year from the Black Sea and the Sea of 
Azof and alight at the mouth of the river 
Don — say that the pelicans take the cor- 
morants into partnership on these fishing- 
excursions. The pelican spreads its wings 
and flaps the water, while the cormorant, 
diving below, drives the fish to the surface ; 
and when, between them both, the school 
is driven into the shallows and easily seized 
by the pelican and stowed away in his bag, 
the cormorant helps himself out of his com- 
panion's wide pouch. 

" They will continue to work with great 
industry until their bags are filled, when 
they fly away to the land to feed at their 
leisure. They are great eaters ; and their 
immense pouches — which are said to hold 
fish enough to make a good meal for a 
number of men — are generally replenished 
twice a day. 

"The pelicans of the West Indies are 
heavier, and so are able to dive under 



294 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

the water. After bringing up their pouches 
full of fish, they will good-naturedly allow 
the parasite-gulls — who are so called be- 
cause they live on the labor of others — to 
settle on their heads and share the spoil. 
But the Eastern pelicans reverse this, and 
themselves settle on the bodies of animals. 
1 On the banks of the river Tigris, in Asia, 
which is the favorite resort of a species of 
pelican, they may be seen in great numbers, 
spreading their silvery wings and quietly 
settled on the backs of the buffaloes which 
are plunging into the water and patiently 
accommodating themselves to this encum- 
brance. We know that cows will allow of 
magpies sitting on their backs and pecking 
holes in their hides ; for which they ought 
to be grateful, as the magpie is doing the 
poor beast an essential service by ridding 
it of the grub of the gad-fly, the sound 
made by even one of which will send a 
herd off at full gallop with their tails in 
the air. But, as the pelican's beak is by 
no means fitted for boring into the tough 
coat of a buffalo, we cannot account for 
the apparent satisfaction expressed by the 



THE PELICAN. 295 

animal on its making this settlement. 
Sometimes hawks avail themselves of the 




PELICAN AND HAWK. 



labors of the pelicans, snatching fish out 
of their very mouths/ 

"The pelican makes no preparation for 
a nest, and does not seem to prefer one 
place above another in which to lay her 
eggs. Five or six are deposited at once 



296 BIRDS AND THEIR WA YS. 

on the bare ground, and there they are 
hatched. 

" Many curious stories are told of this 
bird, and a favorite one is that of its draw- 
ing blood from its own breast to feed its 
young ones, which arose from its habit of 
pressing its long beak on its breast to dis- 
gorge the food it had prepared for them. 
They have also been said to act as water- 
carriers to the camels in the desert, where 
they scoop out holes in the sand and fill 
them with water carried in their pouches 
for the use of their little ones ; but it is 
very sensibly suggested that a camel would 
at one draught swallow all the water that 
could be carried by a whole flock of 
pelicans. 

" They appear to be fond of their young. 
A case is mentioned where the nestlings 
were taken and tied by the leg to a post. 
The mother came for several days and fed 
them, staying with them during most of 
the day and spending the night on the 
branch of a tree that hung over them. 
In this way they became so tame that they 
did not mind being handled, and readily 



THE PELICAN. 297 

accepted any fish that was offered them. 
These they always first put into their 
pouch, and then swallowed them at their 
leisure. 

"A traveler tells a remarkable story of 
a tame pelican among the Indians that was 
so well trained that it would go off in the 
morning at the word of command and re- 
turn before night to its master with its 
great pouch full of fish, a part of which 
the savage would make it give up, while 
it was allowed to keep a portion for itself. 
Another pelican is mentioned as having 
lived for forty years at the court of the 
duke of Bavaria, displaying quite human 
propensities. It was said to delight in the 
company and conversation of men and to 
show a decided taste for music, both vocal 
and instrumental ; ' for it would willingly 
stand by those that sung or sounded the 
trumpet, and, stretching out its head and 
turning its ear to the music, would listen 
very attentively to its harmony, though 
its own voice was little pleasanter than 
the braying of an ass/ The emperor 
Maximilian is said to have had a tame 



298 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

pelican that lived over eighty years and 
always attended his army on its march." 

The children decided that the " dreadful- 
looking bird " had turned out to be very 
amusing, and that after this, when they 
saw a favorite picture of a pelican that 
seemed to be pecking its breast to feed 
its young ones, they would know what it 
meant. 

" There are other members of the peli- 
can family," continued their governess, 
"and next on the list comes the cormo- 
rant, who has a bad reputation as a par- 
ticularly greedy bird. He is only about 
half the size of the real pelican, and is 
also distinguished from the larger bird by 
having- one of his four toes — which are 
webbed together — notched like a saw. 
This is a great help to the birds in hold- 
ing the slippery bodies of small fish, also 
in clinging to branches; 'for, although 
they usually frequent rocks and precipices, 
they can, and very often do, perch on 
trees/ 

" The cormorant has a sooty-black head 
and neck and a thick, heavy body, being 



1 



THE CORMORANT. 299 

shaped very much like a goose. He is a 
great glutton, and the expression 'A" perfect 
cormorant' means a very gross eater. He 
has been called \ the raven of the sea/ and 
is said to feed on all sorts of carrion, 
although his diet principally consists of 
fish. The quantity of food devoured by 
this bird in a day is astonishing — equal 
to seventy or eighty pounds of meat for a 
man in the same time ; and if it is deprived 
of a sufficient supply, it very soon dies. 

" * On the western coast of the Hebrides 
these poor birds suffer severely when, 
during and after a continued gale, the 
Atlantic rolls in its enormous billows, dash- 
ing them against the headlands and scour- 
ing with their fury the sands and creeks. 
As far as the eye can reach the ocean boils 
and heaves, presenting one boundless field 
of foam, the spray from the summits of the 
waves sweeping along the waste like 
drifted snow. No sign of life is to be 
seen save when a gull, laboring hard to bear 
itself up against the blast, hovers overhead 
or darts by like a meteor. If, at such a 
season, the haunts of the cormorants are 



300 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

visited, the birds will be found huddled to- 
gether in their caves and crevices, perishing 
with hunger and their numbers daily thin- 
ning by death. If, indeed, they could ven- 
ture out and bear the buffeting of the storm, 
they would still fail in procuring food ; for 
as in fishing these birds always carry their 
heads under water, in order that with their 
keen, clear and beautiful eye they may 
discover their prey at a greater distance, 
in such commotions of the air and water 
they would need even a quicker glance 
than they possess/ 

" Cormorants are found in many parts 
of the world ; and in lonely places on a 
shore, or a little way out in the water, they 
may be seen perched on rocks or ledges 
watching for fish. In China they are 
trained to fish for their owner, and the 
same thing used to be done in England, 
where there was an officer of the royal 
household who was called 'master of the 
cormorants/ Of their fishing it is said : ' It 
is very pleasant to behold with what saga- 
city they portion out the lake or the canal 
where they are upon duty. When they 



THE CORMORANT. 



301 



have found their prey, they seize it with 
their. beak by the middle, and carry it with- 
out fail to their master. When the fish is 
too large, they then give each other mutual 
assistance : one seizes it by the head, the 
other by the tail, and in this manner they 




THE FISHING cormorant {Phalacrocorax sinensis 



carry it to the boat together. They have 
always, while they fish, a string fastened 
round their throats to prevent them from 
devouring their prey/ " 

The children were very much entertained 
by the fishing-propensities of the pelican 



302 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

family, and Malcolm inquired, with quite a 
grown-up air, if these stories about them 
were strictly true. 

" I see no good reason to doubt them," 
replied the governess, "and a very little 
study of the ways of birds and animals will 
make us ready to credit them with almost 
human powers. There is a fable, however, 
about the cormorant in connection with his 
fishing. It says that he was once a wool- 
merchant. He entered into partnership 
with the bramble and the bat, and they 
freighted a large vessel with wool. She 
struck on some rocks and went to the 
bottom, and this loss caused the firm to 
become bankrupt. Since that disaster the 
bat skulks in his hiding-hole until twilight, 
in order that he may avoid his creditors ; 
the bramble seizes hold of every passing 
sheep to make up his loss by retaining part 
of its wool ; while the cormorant is for ever 
diving into the waters of the deep, in hopes 
of discovering where his foundered vessel 
lies. 

" ' The cormorant may be justly styled the 
feathered terror of the finny tribe. His 



THE CORMORANT. 303 

skill in diving is admirable, and his success 
beyond belief. You may know him at a 
distance, among a thousand water-fowl, by 
his- upright neck, by his body being ap- 
parently half immersed in the water, and 
by his being perpetually in motion when 
not on land. While the ducks and teals 
and widgeons are stationary on the pool, the 
cormorant is seen swimming to and fro "as 
if in quest of something." First raising 
his body nearly perpendicular, down he 
plunges into the deep, and after staying 
there a considerable time he is sure to 
bring up a fish, which he invariably swal- 
lows headforemost/ 

" The cormorant's nest is made of thick 
sticks, plants from the rocks, grass and a 
little wool. Sometimes there are four eggs 
or young ones, and sometimes only one. 
The young ones are covered with a black 
down, and their long necks and long wing- 
bones give them a very queer appearance. 

" Cormorants, when tamed, make nice 
pets, unless they get very hungry, when they 
become outrageous and scream violently. 
A gentleman's servant, who wore plush 



304 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

clothes of a red color, was mistaken by a 
pair of tame cormorants for a huge piece 
of raw flesh — the food to which they were 
accustomed — and the two made such a 
furious attack upon him that their owner 
had to come to his aid with a stick. Even 
then they were not easily driven off. They 
paid Mrs. Puss for her cruelties to small 
birds by eating her whenever they got a 
chance, and dogs and poultry fared just as 
badly. So that, on the whole," added Miss 
Harson, " I am afraid we cannot present 
the cormorant in a very amiable light." 

"'The gannet, or solan goose/' read 
Malcolm at the next picture. " Is that a 
nice bird, Miss Harson?" 

" It is not a particularly interesting one," 
was the reply, " except from the immense 
flocks in which it is seen and the vast 
quantities of eggs which it, with other sea- 
fowl, deposits on inaccessible rocks. It is 
about the size of an ordinary goose, but its 
wings are much larger, as the gannet is 
what may be called ' a high flyer,' and can 
traverse the wide surface of the ocean with 
comparative ease. 



THE GANNET. 



3°5 



" 'All the movements of the gannet on 
land are very awkward ; it hobbles and 
waddles when it tries to walk, stares at you 




GANNET OR SOLAN GOOSE (Sulci baSSCino). 

with its goggle white eyes, opens its black 
throat and emits a torrent of cackling 
sounds. But how different it is when on 
wing or in the water ! How buoyantly it 
20 



306 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

floats on either element ! How rapidly it 
plunges or dives in pursuit of its prey !' 

" These birds are nearly all white and 
lay a single white egg, but so many of 
them are found together in their nesting- 
places among the steep rocks that the eggs 
are quite a source of profit. They are fond 
of uninhabited islands where plenty of fish 
is to be found, and where their human 
enemies seldom come to disturb them. 
Islands on the coast of Scotland and Ire- 
land, and in the North Sea off Norway, 
abound with them. But it is said that 'it 
is scarcely possible to walk on Bass Island, 
in the Firth of Edinburgh, without tread- 
ing on them. The flocks of birds upon the 
wing are so numerous as to darken the air 
like a cloud, and their noise is such that one 
cannot without difficulty be heard by the 
person next to him/ 

" The tropic-bird is so called from being 
found chiefly within the tropics. It is about 
three feet long, and its plumage is white and 
black. It is always seen far away from 
land, where the other winged inhabitants 
of the air are seldom visible, and every one 



THE FRIGATE PELICAN. 2>°7 

on board a ship will hasten to get a glimpse 
of him as he wings his lonely way over the 
ocean. On the coast of Cayenne, in South 
America, there is a rock of enormous size 
that at some distance from the shore rises 
out of the ocean like a water-giant of the 
first magnitude. Multitudes of sea-fowl 
make their nests among the ledges of this 
rock, and here the tropic-bird is said to lay 
its eggs and rear its young. 

" The frigate pelican, or man-of-war bird, 
is also found between the tropics, and is 
about the size of a large fowl. Its plumage 
is brownish black, and it has a long forked 
tail. It has a large pouch, or bag, like the 
pelican;; and when it does not succeed in 
its own fishing, it attacks smaller water- 
fowl and makes them give up the fish 
which they have taken. Its wings are of an 
immense length — not less than fourteen 
feet, and, being capable of long-continued 
flights, it is found at a great distance from 
land, and sometimes settles on the masts 
of ships. " 

"I didn't know," said Clara, when the 
account of the pelican family was finished, 



308 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" that there were so many queer birds in 
the world." 

" There are a great many more than we 
shall at present be able to talk about," 
replied Miss Harson. "We are only learn- 
ing about such birds as you will be likely 
frequently to read of; and when you are 
older you will be able to explore for 
yourselves the wonders of natural his- 
tory." 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

ON STILTS: THE FLAMINGO. 

T ERE is a very strange-looking and 
JLX beautiful bird," said Miss Harson 
one evening; "and when you have ex- 
amined it, you will not wonder at its name. 
It is called the flamingo ; and its Greek 
name, Phoenicopterus^ means * wings of 
flame/ " 

The' bird certainly had a beautiful body 
with snowy plumage, except the wings, 
which were of a bright carnation-color. 
But its immensely long, thin legs made 
it look queer enough. The children were 
not surprised to hear that at a little dis- 
tance, and standing as birds of this kind 
often do — on one leg only — it seems to be 
without any support at all, but just to hang 
in the air. 

" You see what a curious beak it has. 

809 



310 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

It is like a large black box of an irregular 
shape. To collect food in the ordinary way 
with such an arrangement as this would 
be no easy matter, as it would be sure, 
when collected, to drop out of the bird's 
mouth. Its instinct teaches it to turn its 
head and scoop up the soft substances 
on which it preys, using the upper part 
of the bill as a sort of spoon. Very few 
birds could do this ; but you see what a 
very long, slender neck the flamingo has — 
almost as slender as those remarkable legs. 
This odd bill can be made useful in vari- 
ous ways. A captive flamingo that had 
lost a leg managed to walk very well with 
the other by using its bill as a crutch, and 
it seemed to be quite as helpful as a wood- 
en leg would have been." 

4 A wooden leg!" exclaimed the two lit- 
tle ones. " Oh, Miss Harson, did a bird 
ever have a wooden leg?" 

"Yes," was the reply. "Only the other 
day I read of a crane that had one of his 
legs broken and cut off above the knee, 
and it was furnished with a wooden leg 
so nicely made that the bird could walk 



THE FLAMINGO. 



3" 



and use it as well as if it had been a 
natural one." 

The children began to think that wonders 




THE FLAMINGO {Phcenicopterus). 

would never cease in the way of birds ; and 
it certainly did look like it. 

" The flamingo," continued Miss Harson, 
" is also remarkable in having its feet web- 



312 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

bed like those of the goose, as if intended 
for swimming, while its immensely long 
legs belong to the class of waders. It 
is never seen swimming, as its legs and 
thighs are sufficient to bear it into those 
depths where it seeks for prey. This bird 
is one of the tallest and most beautiful of 
water- fowl ; and when it stands erect, it is 
six feet six inches high. Its legs comprise 
nearly three feet of this, and its neck is 
just about as long. 

"The flamingo used to abound on all 
the coasts of Europe, but it is now found 
chiefly in South America, though occasion- 
ally met with on the shores of the Mediter- 
ranean. 4 Its beauty, its size and the pe- 
culiar delicacy of its flesh have been such 
temptations to destroy or take it that it 
has long since deserted the shores fre- 
quented by man and taken refuge in coun- 
tries that are as yet but thinly peopled/ ■ 

" It has happened very much with this 
bird as it did with the savages, who at 
first were not suspicious of white men. 
We are told that 'when the Europeans 
first came to America and coasted down 



THE FLAMINGO. 313 

along the African shores, they found the 
flamingoes in several places on either con- 
tinent gentle and in no way distrustful of 
mankind. When the fowler had killed 
one, the rest of the flock, far from at- 
tempting to fly, only regarded the fall 
of their companion in a kind of fixed 
astonishment. Another and another shot 
was discharged, and thus the fowler often 
leveled the whole flock before one of them 
began to think of escaping.' Now it is 
very different, and the flamingoes have be- 
come so shy that it is almost impossible 
to approach them ; they keep themselves 
retired among the most deserted shores. 
They are fond of salt-water lakes and 
swampy islands. Large flocks of them — 
as many as two and three hundred together 
— are often seen from ships, drawn up in a 
long, close line, and from the distance of 
half a mile they are said to look exactly 
like a brick wall. 

" But a much prettier description of these 
handsome birds is to say that, * with their 
bright pink and scarlet colors, they present 
a soldier-like appearance in addition to 



314 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

further military habits they seem very 
generally to adopt. Not only do they 
always assemble in flocks, but they form 
in long lines of regular rank and file, as 
well for the purpose of fishing as for re- 
pose on the strand. Still further, after the 
manner of experienced soldiers, they post 
sentinels, who keep a good lookout, and 
if anything suspicious attracts their notice 
immediately send forth a cry like the sound 
of a trumpet, when the whole corps moves 
off in regular marching order.' ' 

"Wouldn't you like to see that, Miss 
Harson ?" asked Malcolm, in great ex- 
citement. 

"I should indeed/' was the reply; "it 
would be a sight well worth seeing ; and 
our flamingo w r ith the ungainly bill and 
legs is turning out a very interesting bird. 
On the eastern coast of Africa the officers 
of, a surveying-ship found these birds so 
numerous that every shoal was covered 
with them, looking, they said, at a dis- 
tance, like large variegated plains, and 
upon a nearer approach resembling files 
of soldiers. When the sun was shining 



THE FLAMINGO. 31 5 

on them, nothing could surpass the beau- 
ty of their brilliant and dazzling appear- 
ance. 

"-The tongues of flamingoes — which are 
a great deal larger than those of any other 
birds — have long been considered a great 
delicacy. The Roman emperors thought 
them the highest luxury, and one of them 
had fifteen hundred served up in a single 
dish." 

"And killed all those beautiful birds," 
exclaimed Clara, sadly, "just for their 
tongues !" 

" Tyrants, my dear child, do not stop at 
worse things than that to gratify their self- 
ish fancies," was the reply, "and all sorts 
of extravagances and cruelties have been 
committed by wicked rulers who had not 
the fear of God before their eyes. But 
we w r ill leave them for a more pleasant 
subject. The flamingo's nest, especially 
with the bird sitting on it, must be a very 
funny sight. These nests are built in large 
marshes, where the birds feel quite secure, 
and are said to be ' not less curious than 
the animal that builds them/ A mound 



3l6 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

of mud is scraped together and raised 
about a foot and a half from the surface 
of the water; this is hardened by the 
sun or the heat of the bird's body, and 
resembles a chimney-pot. On the top it 
is hollowed out to the shape of the bird, 
and in this cavity the eggs are placed. 
There are always just- two eggs, and the 
flamingo straddles on her high nest with a 
long leg hanging down into the water on 
either side. It is a long time before the 
young birds are able to fly, but they are 
said to run with wonderful swiftness. They 
are sometimes caught ; and, instead of be- 
ing shy, like the old ones, they seem quite 
willing to be carried off, and are very easily 
tamed. And now," added Miss Harson, 
"I think that we may feel somewhat ac- 
quainted with this strange bird, which none 
of us are likely ever to see alive." 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

SWANS AND GEESE. 

I NEED not tell you what this is," said 
Miss Harson, with a smile, as she 
placed before her pupils a picture of several 
swans in a lakelet in the park. 

Even little Edith knew a swan when she 
saw it ; and the children were all comment- 
ing upon the beauty of these birds, when 
they were surprised to hear their governess 
say, 

"It will astonish you, perhaps, to hear 
that swans are really geese." 

" Is that what Kitty means," asked Mal- 
colm, after a moment of apparently deep 
reflection, "when she tells Jane that her 
swans are all geese ?' 

" No," replied Miss Harson, laughing, " I 
do not believe that she is thinking at all of 
natural history when she says that. And, 

317 



318 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

besides, I think she says that Jane's • geese 
are all swans/ Is not that it?" 

On second thought, Malcolm decided that 
it was ; and his governess explained that 
this expression is applied to people who 
have the habit of making out their posses- 
sions or their prospects to be much better 
than they are. 

" But it is really true," continued, Miss 
Harson, " that the swan is only a handsome 
species of goose ; and it belongs to the 
great family of web-footed water-fowl, of 
which the flamingo is, perhaps, the most 
remarkable specimen. Swans, geese and 
ducks are classed tog-ether as being all 
swimmers and resembling one another in 
many of their habits. Looking upon the 
swan as a goose, it will be well to begin 
with a little study of that particular species. 

" Common tame geese are, as we know, 
though not graceful or wise, very useful 
birds. In some places, their quills and 
feathers yield nearly as much profit as 
comes from the flocks and herds. These 
fowl are descended from the wild goose 
(Anser), of which there are several varieties, 



SWANS AND GEESE. 



319 



and they are found on coasts and marshes 
in many different parts of the world. The 
flight of these birds is heavy and sedate, 




the SWAN (Cygnus). 

rising to a great height when they are 
traveling any distance, at which times they 
advance in two lines arranged in the form 
of a wedge (;> ): 



320 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" 'Alike in wedge-like ranks aloft, 

The geese, with downy plumage soft, 
Or in the long-drawn column's range, 
As Nature's dictate prompts the change, 
Speed to the South on clanging pens, 
To winter in the marshy fens.' 

" If this flight takes place early in the 
season, it is thought by farmers to foretell 
a long and severe winter; and if they 
linger late, mild weather is looked for. 
'Their loud cries — rather harsh and grat- 
ing when heard close at hand — are pleasant 
to the ear when coming from a distance, es- 
pecially in the stillness of the night/ 

" ' Live goose-feathers,' meaning feathers 
plucked from the poor birds while they were 
alive, are so much used for beds, as well as 
for a variety of other purposes — while their 
quills, before steel pens were invented, were 
made into pens, and thus helped to do the 
writing of the world — that a writer of more 
than half a century ago says : ' Of all the 
birds in the air, and all the beasts in the 
field, and all the fishes in the sea, and all 
the creatures of inferior kind who pass 
their lives wholly or in part, according to 
the different stages of their existence, in 



THE GOOSE. 



321 



air, earth or water, — what creature has 
produced, directly, the most effect upon 
mankind? That which you, reader, will 
deserve to be called if you do not, after a 
moment's consideration, answer the ques- 
tion rightly : The goose.' 

" In ancient times the goose was very 




wild goose (A user). 

highly thought of, and stories are told of 
its constancy and -affection which sound 
more as if they were of a dog than of a 
bird. A Roman philosopher named Lacy- 
des had a goose which took so strong a 
fancy to him that it would never willingly 
21 



322 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

leave him by night or by day ; wherever he 
chose to go, the goose was his companion. 
If he went abroad and walked in the public 
streets the bird followed him, and in his 
own house always forced itself into his 
presence. The philosopher, struck with 
this constant and strange attachment, 
seemed to consider it in some way con- 
nected with religious feeling; and when, 
at last, the goose died, he went to the 
expense of bestowing upon it a magnifi- 
cent funeral. 

. "Another wonderful goose belonged to a 
blind old German woman. Every Sunday 
it would lead her to church by taking hold 
of her dress with its bill. When she was 
seated, this funny attendant would go into 
the churchyard to graze until she came out, 
when it led her home again in the same 
way. One day the clergyman called at the 
old woman's house, and expressed his sur- 
prise to her daughter that one so old and 
blind should venture abroad ; when she 
replied, * Oh, sir, we are not afraid of trust- 
ing her out of sight, for the gander is with 
her.' 



THE GOOSE. 323 

" Geese have sometimes shown a strong 
affection for dogs. One of them belonging 
to a person in Scotland was observed for 
some time to pay particular attention to a 
dog which was chained up ; and, what was 
singular, this dog had always shown great 
dislike to poultry, never allowing them to 
come within reach of his chain. But now 
he seemed to have forgotten this, and 
received his new acquaintance with every 
mark of affection. The goose, finding that 
she had nothing to fear from her canine 
friend, would enter his kennel, in the cen- 
tre of which, among the straw, she made her 
nest and deposited her eggs ; but this was 
not known until one of the family said that 
the goose slept in the dog's bosom. The 
box was examined, but with considerable 
opposition on the part of the dog, who ap- 
peared resolved to protect what was left 
to his care ; and five eggs were found 
beneath the straw in a fine bed of down 
and feathers. The dog had been seen to 
go into his box with the greatest care, for 
fear of injuring the eggs." 

The little audience could here keep quiet 



324 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

no longer, but became much delighted over 
these wonderful geese, and asked Miss 
Harson so many questions that she scarcely 
knew how to answer them. Malcolm pro- 
posed that a goose should immediately be 
procured and introduced to Flip, "just to 
see how they would get on." Miss Harson 
did not think they would get on at all, 
although she was much amused with Mal- 
colm's evident resolve to make some exper- 
iments with geese as soon as he could get 
a chance. 

. " I didn't know that geese were so nice," 
said Clara ; " they always hiss and run after 
me when I see a flock of them in the road." 
" They will not do this if you step out 
of the way," replied her governess, " but 
they do not like to have their path crossed. 
There seems to be no good reason why the 
term 'goose ' should be used for expressing 
folly, as the goose is anything but a foolish 
bird ; and she has shown wit enough to be 
able to tell her own eggs from others very 
much like them. A goose was once set on 
six or eight eggs, but the dairymaid, think- 
ing that so large a bird could just as well 



THE SWAN. 325 

cover twice as many, added an equal num- 
ber of duck's eggs. The next morning she 
went to see if all was right, when, to her 
great surprise, she found the goose quiet 
on her nest, but every one of the duck-eggs 
had been picked out, and all were lying on 
the ground. They were put back again, but 
the next morning all the duck-eggs were 
found moved off as before and lying around 
the nest; while the goose was sitting on her 
own eggs in the most proper manner. She 
was not again troubled with the duck-eggs, 
for fear of driving her from her nest. 

" But at this rate," said Miss Harson, 
"our swans seem likely to turn out geese ; 
and we must leave the plain domestic bird, 
to learn something of its majestic relative. 
A swan gliding calmly along on the water 
is perhaps as beautiful and as graceful an 
object as is ever seen ; and these birds are 
particularly ornamental in grounds where 
there is a small lake or pond. 

" ' So much difference is there between 
this bird when on land and in the water 
that it is hardly to be supposed the same, 
for in the latter no bird can possibly exceed 



326 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

it for beauty and majestic appearance. 
When it ascends from its favorite ele- 
ment, its motions are awkward and its neck 
is stretched forward with an air of stupid- 
ity: it has, indeed, the air of being only a lar- 
ger sort of goose ; but when seen smoothly 
gliding along the water, displaying a thou- 
sand graceful attitudes and moving at 
pleasure without the smallest apparent 
effort, there is not a more beautiful figure 
in all nature. In its form we find no 
broken or harsh lines ; in its motions, 
nothing constrained or abrupt. The eye 
wanders over the whole with unalloyed 
pleasure, and with every change of posi- 
tion every part assumes a new grace. It 
will swim faster than a man can walk/ 

"The common swan is about five feet 
long, and its plumage is of a pure white 
color. The little swans, or cygnets, have 
bluish-gray plumage. The neck of this 
bird is very long and graceful, and capable 
of being bent or turned in many different 
directions. Under the feathers is a thick, 
soft down that is much valued as an arti- 
cle of commerce, both for use and ornament. 



THE SWAN. 327 

" The cry of the wild, or whistling, swan 
is thought by the Icelanders to be as 
pleasant as the sound of a violin ; for, as 
their year is divided into one long day 
of summer and one longer, dreary night of 
winter, the swan's cry, heard in the spring, 
tells them that the sun is coming back to 
them, and is associated in their minds with 
all that is cheerful and delightful. The 
wild swan is smaller than the tame one, 
and is found in most northern regions. 

" This bird makes its nest of reeds and 
rushes on the margin of the water or on an 
islet in the stream. Both male and female 
assist in building it, and seven or eight 
white eggs, much larger than those of a 
goose, are laid in it. It is six weeks before 
the young are hatched, and the old birds are 
very dangerous to approach when their 
little family are feeding around them. 
Their fears take alarm at once, and in 
times of danger the mother swims off with 
the cygnets on her back. A fox swimming 
on an exploring visit to a swan's nest was 
attacked and drowned by the watchful 
parent. 



328 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" The swan is delicate in its appetite, as 
becomes so beautiful a bird, and feeds 
chiefly on corn and bread, plants growing 
in the water, and roots and seeds which 
it finds on the margin. It is a favorite 
amusement with children to throw pieces 
of bread to the swans where they are 
kept in public gardens or private grounds, 
and to watch them arching their long necks 
as they pick up the food from the water. 

" But the beauty of this bird is only out- 
side beauty, after all. It is represented as 
spiteful and quarrelsome in disposition, 
ready to attack every animal as well as 
men. It will take sudden dislikes with- 
out any reason. Some swans kept in 
the Luxembourg Gardens, in Paris, took 
an aversion to all the keepers, and when- 
ever they saw one they all came out of 
the water to pick a quarrel with him. 

" ' Swans/ we are told, ' were formerly 
held in such great esteem in England that 
by an act of Edward IV. none except the 
son of the king was permitted to keep a 
swan unless possessed of a freehold to 
the value of five marks a year. By a 



THE SWAN. 329 

subsequent act the punishment for taking 
swans' eggs was imprisonment for a year 
and a day, and a fine at the king's will. 
At~ present they are not valued for the 
delicacy of their flesh, but numbers are 
still preserved for their beauty. Many 
may be seen on the Thames, where they 
are esteemed royal property/ as also in 
the parks of Europe and America. 

'We have read how T much goose-quills 
were at one time used, but swan-quills, 
being larger and more rare, are still more 
valuable, and would bring high prices. 
One of the principal sources of this trade 
is on the north-eastern coast of the Black 
Sea, where wild swans abound. They as- 
semble in large flocks about the creeks 
that run into the shore, and the people 
who collect their feathers start in pursuit 
of them w T hen the old birds are busy hatch- 
ing and rearing their young. The feathers 
are drifted on shore by the tide and collect- 
ed, and then sold to dealers who come from 
the neighboring towns. 

" Swans live to a very great age, men- 
tion being made of one that was two 



33° BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

hundred years old. In old times they 
were believed to sing just before they 
died, though mute at other times. The 
swan's death-song has been proved to 
be only a poetical fancy ; but these pretty 
lines on the subject convey a lesson that 
we should all lay to heart: 

" ' " What is that, mother ?" 
" The swan, my love : 
He is floating down from his native grove. 
No loved one now, no nestling nigh, 
He is floating down by himself to die. 
Death darkens his eye and unplumes his wings, 
Yet the sweetest song is the last he sings. 
Live so, my child, that when death shall come, 
Swan-like and sweet, it may waft thee home." ' " 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

"QUACK! QUACK!"— DUCKS. 

" AFTER geese," said Miss Harson, 
/i " ducks seem to come, as a matter 
of course ; and, although almost every 
one feels acquainted with such common 
fowls, we shall find that, like the geese, 
there are many things to learn about 
them that will surprise us. 

" Different kinds of wild ducks are found 
in various parts of the world. While we 
are accustomed to seeing the tame ducks 
only on the water or waddling along on 
the ground in a very awkward fashion, 
and would be very much surprised to see 
them spread their wings and fly up into 
a tree, this is just what some wild ducks 
do ; and they not only roost in trees, but 
make their nests among the branches. 

"In our own country the summer duck 

831 



332 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

builds, at quite a distance from the ground, 
in the hollows of trees, from which the 
young ones, soon after they are hatched, 
descend, and then make the best of their 
way to the water. The wood-ducks, too, 
are continually to be seen, during the 
season of rearing their young, flying be- 
tween the river and the woods where they 
build. In England a duck's nest was found 
in an oak tree, twenty-five feet from the 
ground ; the mother-bird was sitting on 
nine eggs that were placed on some small 
twigs laid crossways. Another duck was 
seen to fly out of a large oak in which a 
hawk had the year before made a nest. 
She was found to have repaired this old 
nest, and to have laid two eggs in it. 
Some other wild ducks took possession 
of a rook's nest at the top of an oak 
tree, and the drake would perch on a 
bough near the duck and take turns with 
her in sitting on the eggs. 

" The canvas-back ducks are famous 
game, and are considered a great deli- 
cacy for the table ; and the flesh of most 
wild ducks is thought to be very good 



DUCKS. 



333 



eating. Many gentlemen enjoy the pleas- 
ure of shooting them, and various meth- 
ods of catching these birds have been 
practiced among different nations. They 
are so very shy that it is not easy to ap- 
proach them. The Indians who live on 




BLUE- WINGED TEAL (Querquedula discors). 

the north coast of South America, in vil- 
lages built on the shallows in the midst 
of the waters of Lake Maracaibo, have 
a very ingenious way of capturing them. 
They keep a number of calabashes float- 
ing up and down the lake, and the ducks 
get so accustomed to them that they will 



334 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

let them drift down among- them with- 
out seeming to be in the least afraid. 
When the duck-catcher sees that the 
gourds are floating near a large flock, 
he goes into the lake with a calabash 
over his head, having first made holes 
in it for seeing and breathing. Nothing 
is seen above the water but the calabash, 
which looks just like the others, as the 
Indian keeps the whole of his body under 
water. He steals along very cautiously 
toward the ducks, who have not the least 
suspicion that an enemy is so near, and 
suddenly seizes one of them by the leg 
and twitches the bird under water before 
it has a chance to alarm the rest by a cry 
or a flutter. Then he moves carefully 
toward another, which he treats in the 
same way. Having hung to a belt around 
his waist as many as he can well carry, 
he goes slowly back to the shore, leaving 
the empty calabashes bobbing up and dow r n 
as before. " 

" I wonder what the ducks think," said 
Malcolm, " when so many of their friends 
disappear and never come back ?" 



ducks. 335 

" Perhaps they think they're drowned," 
suggested Clara. 

"The idea of a duck drowning!" cried 
Malcolm ; and Miss Harson, too, joined 
in the laugh. But she said very kindly, 

" Never mind, dear ; it was the first 
thing you happened to think of, and, in 
truth, they were drowned by being kept 
under the water by the Indian. But water- 
fowl, as they are called, never get drowned 
through being unable to float, because they 
are as much at home in the water as we 
are on dry land. 

" The Chinese take great pains in rear- 
ing ducks, which they also train in quite 
a remarkable way. The young birds are 
kept in a large floating pen which has a 
broad bamboo bottom and a gallery around 
it above the river, also a bridge leading 
down to the water. 'An old and ex- 
perienced stepmother is provided to lead 
them down and attend them when feed- 
ing ; these old birds are so well trained 
that at the given signal in the evening 
they return in the utmost haste with their 
young broods. This signal is a whistle, 



33 6 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

on the sound of which the whole flock 
sets itself in motion, waddling in regular 
order toward their boat. The first duck 
that enters is rewarded with some favorite 
food, the last is whipped as an idler ; so 
that it is a comical sight to see the last 
birds, as if knowing what will happen to 
the last of all, making efforts to fly over 
the backs of others and get on board the 
boat in time to escape punishment/ The 
people who raise these ducks for sale live 
in boats and have no other houses ; so, 
when the birds return to the boat, it means 
that they go home. 

" But we must not forget the eider-duck/' 
continued Miss Harson, "that supplies us 
with down. It is obliged, as has been well 
said, to have warmer underclothing than 
most other ducks, born and bred as it is 
among the dreary regions of the frozen 
seas, and living, either solitarily or in single 
pairs, near the ice, as far as possible from 
land. At the season, however, of building 
their nests and attending to their young 
ones, these ducks gather in great numbers 
on the northern islands. 



ducks. 337 

u In Iceland the eider-ducks will build 
their nests quite close to the shore, and 
often near the dwellings of the natives, 
wlrc) treat them so kindly that they are 
almost like tame ducks and will allow 
people to walk among their nests. The 
drakes do not like this, and will often 
rush, alarmed, into the water when any 
one approaches ; but the ducks generally 
sit still or fly off a yard or two from the 
nest, returning in a rage if the intruder 
tries to touch their eggs. 

"The nests are made of sea-weed and 
lined with the finest down, which is plucked 
from the breasts of the old birds. When 
the first eggs are laid, these and the down 
are taken from the nest by the islanders ; 
then the ducks re-line their dwelling and 
try to raise another family. But when 
eggs and down again disappear, things 
begin to look suspicious ; and if the nests 
are robbed a third time, the birds will be- 
gin to desert the place. 

" The duck leads the little birds out 
of the nest almost as soon as they are 
hatched ; going before them to the shore, 

22 



33§ BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

they trot after her. When she comes to 
the waterside, she takes them on her back 
and swims a few yards with them, when 
she dives, and the young ones are left 
floating on the surface and have to take 
care of themselves. They are afterward 
seldom seen on land. 

"Another branch of the duck family are 
known as teal, and are distinguished by 
the upper mandible of the bill projecting 
slightly beyond the lower mandible, as in 
our portly American blue-winged teal* 
and the green-winged teal. 

"Are there any stories about ducks ?" 
asked Clara. 

"Not very many that can be called 
stories," was the reply — " only two or 
three little anecdotes to show that these 
birds as well as geese are capable of af- 
fection. At a house in England a very 
fierce and noisy house-dog was kept, with- 
in the length of whose chain it would have 
been dangerous for a stranger to venture ; 
but a brood of ducklings that were reared 
in the same yard soon became so fond of 

* See page 333. 



DUCKS. 



339 



him that whenever, from his barking, they 
suspected danger, they would rush toward 
him for protection and seek shelter in his 
kennel. 

"A farmers wife had a young duck which 
had been in some way deprived of its com- 




JTe'R 

THE green- winged teal (Nettion carolitiensis). 

panions, and from that time it seemed to 
bestow all its affections on her. Wher- 
ever she moved it followed so closely that 
she was in constant fear of treading upon 
and crushing it to death. As it grew older 
its affection seemed to strengthen ; it laid 
itself by the fire and basked on the hearth, 



34° BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

and when noticed seemed delighted. But 
when some other ducks were brought to 
the place, it was constantly driven out of 
the house, and by degrees it came to asso- 
ciate with its natural companions. 

"Another duck was separated for a time 
from his mate and seemed to be pining for 
her loss, till one day she was brought up 
and turned loose among the flock. ' For 
a short time, being at a distance, he did 
not see her ; but when, on accidentally turn- 
ing his head, he caught a glimpse of his 
well-known companion, he rushed toward 
her with an earnestness and affection which 
quite touched those who witnessed the meet- 
ing. Nothing from that moment would in- 
duce him to quit her ; and he manifested his 
joy at the unexpected reunion by twining 
his neck on hers, nestling it under her 
wing and gazing at her with eyes express- 
ive of extreme delight and satisfaction/ 

"And now," added Miss Harson, " I 
think we shall look on our common geese 
and ducks with fresh interest, since we 
know them to be capable of cherishing 
almost human feelings. ,, 






CHAPTER XXIX. 

STORM-SIGNALS: THE ALBATROSS AND THE 
PETREL. 

T AVING come now to water-birds/' 
JLA said Miss Harson, "we shall find 
that there are vast quantities of them — 
more, indeed, than we shall be able to 
attend to ; and we can at present attempt 
only those that are best known. 

" The wandering albatross is the largest 
sea-bird that flies. The plumage is usually 
of a dark-brown color above and white 
beneath. It is a strong, graceful bird, of 
rapid flight, and all its movements are 
marked by perfect ease. 

" ' With what elegance it sails along, 
cleaving the air obliquely, inclining from 
one side to the other, descending and skim- 
ming close to the rolling waves, its huge 
pinions appearing almost to touch the 
water ! It then soars aloft with equal bold- 

341 



342 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

ness and facility of action, as if using the 
aid of the wings as a sail. So rapid are its 
movements that, having been seen near the 
ship, when only a few seconds have elapsed 
it has passed far away, still ascending, and, 
descending toward the surface of the water, 
seeking for food and ranging over an 
immense space in a very short period of 
time. Sometimes several may be seen 
floating upon the water engaged in clean- 
ing their feathers, and thus imparting an 
additional gloss to their plumage/ 

" This bird seems to live in the air, roam- 
ing constantly over the seas, and it has been 
found fully a thousand miles from land. It 
cannot bear confinement, and will mope and 
die unless allowed a free rancre of flight 
over its favorite element. ( No tempest 
troubles the albatross, for he may be seen 
with equal vigor sportively wheeling in the 
blast and carousing in the hurricane. 

" ' " His march is o'er the mountain wave, 
His home is on the deep." 

" ' In the gale he will sweep occasionally 
the rising billows, and seem to delight in 



344 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

the spray bursting over him. Tired, in 
truth, these birds rarely are ; but should they 
be, though never seen to swim, they can, 
in consequence of their feet being webbed 
and remarkably large, walk on the surface 
of the water, when it is smooth, with hardly 
any assistance from their wings ; and the 
noise of their tread may be heard at a 
great distance/ 

" The albatross belongs especially to the 
southern seas, and it makes its nest on icy 
rocks or dreary islands. The young ones 
have been found on the ground completely 
uncovered, with the old ones stalking round 
them. Each bird lays but one egg ; and 
after the young albatross is hatched, it is a 
whole year before it can fly. The court- 
ship of these birds is described as very 
amusing: 'The couple approach one another 
with great apparent ceremony, bringing 
their beaks repeatedly together, swinging 
their heads, and contemplating each other 
with very deliberate attention. Sometimes 
this will continue for two hours together, 
like a courtship in a pantomime/ 

" The albatross is an enormous eater, and 



THE ALBATROSS. 345 

is easily caught by baiting a hook with offal 
and letting it trail after the vessel. It will 
sometimes rise into the air after swallowing 
the bait, when it is brought on board by 
hauling in the line as a boy does a kite. 
Albatrosses are often seen flocking to 
some particular part of the ocean after 
a shoal of cuttle-fish, which they seem to 
prefer to any other food. Having satisfied 
themselves for a time, they will turn their 
attention to any passing ship, from which 
they are always watched with much interest. 
1 They often poise themselves for a length 
of time over the same spot, and are then 
seen crossing the vessel ; at other times 
they hover not far above our heads, casting 
sly glances w T ith their bright eyes at the un- 
feathered bipeds below, and then resume 
their flight, sailing to and fro apparently 
without any muscular exertion, steering 
their course by aid of the tail and the 
wings. They appear as comfortable float- 
ing in the breeze as we should be on a 
bed of luxurious softness/ 

"In the Falkland Islands the albatross 
lives on terms of great friendship with the 



346 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

penguin ; their nests are found near each 
other and constructed with great uniformity, 
that of the albatross being always in the 
centre of a little square formed by the 
nests of four penguins. 

"Sailors consider it unlucky to kill an 
albatross, or, indeed, any bird that hovers 
around a vessel. Coleridge's famous poem, 
the 'Ancient Mariner/ is founded on this 
superstition. It is the story of a ship 
driven to ' the land of ice and of fearful 
sounds, where no living thing was to be 
seen ;' but 

"'At length did cross an albatross : 
Through the fog it came ; 
As if it had been a Christian soul, 
We hailed it in God's name. 

" 'And a good south-wind sprang up behind : 
The albatross did follow. 
And every day, for food or play, 
Came to the mariners' hollo. ' 

But the sailor wickedly shoots the al- 
batross, and then follows a dreadful nar- 
rative of the troubles and sufferings of the 
ship's crew. The Ancient Mariner finally 
reaches land in his own country and prays 



THE PETREL. 347 

for the forgiveness of his sins ; and the 
poem ends with this beautiful verse : 

" ' He prayeth best who loveth best 
All things both great and small ; 
For the dear God who loveth us, 
He made and loveth all.' " 

The children listened with great attention 
to this account of the albatross ; and when 
Miss Harson told them that the stormy 
petrel would come next, as belonging to 
the same family, they seemed to expect 
still greater entertainment. 

" Here he is," continued their governess 
— "a little bird about the size of a house- 
swallow — skimming along the hollows of 
the waves and through the spray upon 
their tops at the astonishing rate of sixty 
miles an hour. Between the toes the 
petrel has a membrane which particularly 
fits it for swimming ; and, in spite of its 
small size, it ventures farther from land 
than do the larger sea-birds, being often 
met with in the very middle of the Atlan- 
tic Ocean. Its plumage is of a dull black 
and rusty brown, with a patch of white 
where the tail begins. 



34§ BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" Petrels are to be found all over the 
world, sometimes in flocks of over a 
hundred million. They are often called 
' Mother Carey's chickens/ and are not 
favorites with sailors, because they think 
they bring stormy weather when they fly 
around or follow a ship : 

" * Where mountain-billows roll and loud winds sing, 
The stormy petrel, on untiring wing, 
Still skims along the ocean's troubled breast, 
And safely steers above each foaming crest : 
As the prophetic herald glances by, 
The anxious sailor knows that danger's nigh.' 

" ' The common name " petrel," or " little 
peter," given to the whole of this family, 
has reference to the apostle Peter's walk- 
ing upon the water.' They are also called 
1 storm-finch,' ' water-witch ' and * sea-swal- 
low,' besides their scientific name, which 
means ' sea-runner,' and which is given 
to them because, in searching for food, 
they fly close to the surface, and while 
stooping let down their feet and pat the 
water with them, which action makes them 
seem to run on the waves. They float 
very lightly, but are not able to dive ; and 



THE PETREL. 349 

their flight is as buoyant and rapid as is 
that of the swallow. 

11 One peculiarity of the petrels is that 
their bodies seem to be full of oil, and in 
some of the islands of the Hebrides the 
inhabitants use them as candles by passing 
through the body a rush, which is found to 
burn as well as if dipped in tallow or any 
other grease. They also yield a quantity 
of down, which supplies the islanders with 
warm bedding. They are justly looked 
upon by them as very valuable birds. 

"Like other sea-birds, the petrels build 
their nests in the crevices of rocks, in 
holes in the turf or under stones on the 
beaches. These nests contain only one 
large white egg. 

"A species of petrel in Australia is said 
to burrow in sand, like rabbits, lying hid 
in the holes by day and in the evening 
going forth in quest of food. But all 
these birds are more lively at night ; and 
the common stormy petrel has been seen 
to come forth, like the bat, at dusk, and to 
make a clamorous noise while seeking for 
food. 



350 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

" Even this wild, strange bird, though 
seeming to delight in storms and dark- 
ness, can be tamed, and soon loses all 
fear of persons who approach it. One 
that was kept in a cage for some time 
was fed in a very curious way: this was 
by smearing the feathers of the breast 
with train-oil, which the bird afterward 
sucked with its bill. Sometimes the oil 
was put in a saucer in the cage, and then 
the bird would dip in its feathers and suck 
the oil as before." 

The children thought this " very funny," 
and there was the usual request for a 
story. Miss Harson told them that she 
had no story, but that in place of one 
she would read for them these pretty 
lines on the stormy petrel : 

" ' A thousand miles from land are we, 
Tossing about on the stormy sea, 
From billow to bounding billow cast 
Like fleecy snow on the stormy blast. 
The sails are scattered about like weeds ; 
The strong masts shake like quivering reeds ; 
The mighty cables and iron chains, 
The hull, which all earthly strength disdains — 
They strain and they crack, and, hearts like stone, 
Their natural hard, proud stren th disown. 



THE PETREL. 35 I 

" ' Up and down ! up and down ! 

From the base of the wave to the billow's crown, 

And amidst the flashing and feathery foam, 

The stormy petrel finds a home — 

^A home, if such a place there be 

For her who lives on the wide, wide sea, 

On the craggy ice, in the frozen air, 

And only seeking her rocky lair 

To warm her young, and teach them to spring 

At once o'er the waves on their stormy wing. 

" « O'er the deep ! o'er the deep ! 

Where the whale and the shark and the swordfish sleep, 

Outflying the blast and the driving rain, 

The petrel telleth her tale in vain ; 

For the mariner curseth the warning bird 

Who bringeth him news of the storm unheard. 

Ah ! thus does the prophet of good or ill 

Meet hate from the creatures he serveth still, 

Yet he never falters. — So, Petrel, spring 

Once more o'er the waves on thy stormy wing.* " 



CHAPTER XXX. 

WINGS OF SNOW: THE GULLS. 

THESE plump -looking birds with 
forked tails," said Miss Harson, 
" belong to a very numerous tribe that are 
found in all parts of the world wherever 
there are rugged sea-coasts with rocky 
precipices. They are often called ' sea- 
vultures/ for nothing in the way of food 
comes amiss to them, the most loathsome 
carrion being as acceptable to the gulls as 
is the finest and freshest fish. They will 
eat until they can scarcely breathe, and 
may then be taken up in a perfectly help- 
less state. 

" ' Nature has amply provided them with 
means for their wandering lives. While 
the cormorant is pent up in his cavern, 
and most of the other sea-birds are driven 
to the rocks and crags, during heavy gales, 

352 



THE GULLS. 



353 



it matters as little to the gull as to the gan- 
net that the weather be fair or foul. Cold 
has no effect upon him, provided as he is 




» ■ ■ 




gulls (Laridic). 

with a thick coat of the softest down ; light 
too, as he is, he tops and rides over the 
waves without an effort; and his wide 
wings ensure him a safe conveyance from 

23 



354 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

every peril, save that of the gun, to which 
he may be exposed/ 

"The common gull is about seventeen 
inches long, with back and wings of a pale 
gray and the rest of the body white. The 
black-and-white gull is a larger, and alto- 
gether a handsomer, bird. The sailor, we 
are told, is sure to find these birds wherever 
he goes, whether under the burning sun of 
the tropical regions or among the frozen 
icebergs of the Arctic circle, and always 
bearing the same restless, noisy character. 
The laughing gulls are especially garrulous 
and noisy, being rarely silent for more than 
one hour out of the twenty-four." 

" Do they really laugh, Miss Harson ?" 
asked the little girls, with great interest. 

"Not as people do," was the reply, "but 
they make a noise which sounds like laugh- 
ter. All the gulls are noisy enough, par- 
ticularly when they are busy with their 
nests and eggs. The Arctic gulls are said 
to fear neither the bird nor the animal that 
comes too near their nest, and never hesi- 
tate to attack the intruder, no matter what 
his size. ' Where they breed in considerable 



THE GULLS. 355 

numbers, neither hawks, nor even eagles, 
are allowed to approach ; for if, either by 
accident or by design, any of these birds 
of prey are seen, the whole assembly attack 
and compel them to retire. Hence, in some 
places where they abound, they become the 
guardians of the young lambs, which the 
people consider perfectly safe during sum- 
mer ; and in return for this protection the 
gull is never molested, being held in no less 
esteem than the stork in Holland or the ibis 
in Egypt.' " 

" How funny it seems,' 1 said Malcolm, 
"for birds to take care of lambs!" 

" It does seems rather out of the usual 
course of things," replied his governess, 
" but the parties most interested in it ap- 
pear to be mutually satisfied. Besides 
men, the poor gulls have many enemies 
who are fond of eggs, and among these 
crows are particularly troublesome. There 
is an account of a pair of crows that would 
come at the same time with the gulls, and 
build their nest just opposite for the ex- 
press purpose of feeding on their eggs ; 
1 for no sooner do the gulls begin to lay 



356 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

than these two crows are perpetually on 
the lookout, frequently hovering over and 
watching for an opportunity to carry off 
a prize. The moment the thieves appear 
the whole gull-colony is in a state of com- 
motion and consternation, those on the 
nests cowering over their new-laid treas- 
ures, while the others, by their screams 
and menacing attitudes, do their best to 
frighten away the marauders. But the 
cunning crows usually gain their point. 
Watching an opportunity, down they 
pounce, pierce an egg with their sharp 
beak and fly off with it in a trice/ 

"These eggs are considered very good 
eating, and immense numbers of them 
are collected every year. To accomplish 
this, the most dangerous rocks and pre- 
cipices have to be climbed, and some- 
times the egg-seekers are suspended by 
long ropes over the cliffs where the nu- 
merous nests afford a rich harvest. But 
we shall come to this afterward. 

" Gulls, like other sea-birds, are great 
fishers, and herrings seem to form a consid- 
erable portion of their repasts. They appear 



THE GULLS. 357 

thoroughly to understand the habits of 
these fish, and to shape their own course 
accordingly. In the Shetland Islands, at 
a particular time of tide, the herrings de- 
scend from the surface ; and during their 
intervals of absence the gulls, as if know- 
ing that fishing was out of the question 
for the time, generally go inland and rest 
among the heaths. As soon as the tide 
changes and the herrings rise, out come 
the gulls again in full force, and by their 
loud and discordant screams seem to con- 
gratulate one another on the approaching 
feast. When they take to their wings, it 
is a sure sign that a fishing-season is at 
hand. * It is astonishing to see with what 
precision and regularity the flocks far re- 
moved from the sea rouse themselves from 
a state of quiet and repose and, suddenly 
full of bustle and activity, betake them- 
selves to the herring-grounds/ Here, as 
everywhere in natural history, we wonder 
at the guidance given by Him who ' satis- 
fied the wants of every living thing/ 

" These birds are very sure to follow in 
the wake of the whale-fishers, and especial- 



358 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

ly when they are busied in cutting up a 
whale. If some other hungry bird has 
secured a choice morsel of blubber or 
flesh, down comes the gull and wrests the 
prize from its grasp." 

"Why, he's a thief!" said Malcolm, in- 
dignantly. 

"Yes, he is almost as bad as our sports- 
men — quite as bad as our butchers and 
poultry-dealers. 

"Some one speaks of watching the gulls 
in their favorite haunts and 'listening to 
their wild cry mingling with the hoarse 
roar of the waves lashing the rocks be- 
low. A couple of common gulls had es- 
tablished themselves on a bit of a plateau 
that made one giddy to look at and quite 
tremble for the fate of their sole offspring 
■ — a little gray, down-covered nestling with 
about half an inch between its toes and 
destruction ; for a breath might have blown 
it over. But there stood the little tottering 
bird, quite at its ease, so well tutored, ap- 
parently, that when the old ones success- 
ively returned with food, it betrayed none 
of those emotions, common to young birds, 



THE GULLS. 359 

which would certainly have thrown it off 
its balance- — no tremulous movement of 
its flappers, no impatient stretchings of 
its neck, no gapings of its mouth. There 
it stood motionless, as if conscious of the 
dangers attendant on even the slightest 
bustling display of satisfaction. 

" ' It was impossible not to feel something 
like pity for the dull life it was doomed to 
lead in such a cradle, it being evident that 
from the moment of its quitting its egg- 
shell to that hour the choice of standing 
on its right or left leg, or a cautious putting 
forth of one foot before the other to the ex- 
tent of a few inches, was the only source of 
amusement within its reach/ " 

" Poor little gull !" said Edith, sympathiz- 
ingly, as though she fancied herself covered 
with gray down and standing on one foot 
on a narrow ledge by the sea. 

" The gulls are used to it, dear," replied 
her governess, with a smile, " and probably, 
in their way, they manage to enjoy them- 
selves. If noise is any sign of fun, they 
certainly have plenty of it; for the same 
gentleman says: "The din was incessant, 



360 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

and some seemed quite exhausted with 
screaming or hearing others scream ; for 
they might be seen flying off from the main 
body to a retired crag or niche, as if to rest 
a while in perfect silence/ " 

" I like to hear about the gulls," said 
Clara. " Isn't there any more to read us, 
Miss Harson, where the picture is of their 
flying around so ?" 

" I thought that you might be tired of the 
subject," was the reply ; " but if you are not, 
I will read you a little more of their habits. 

" Speaking of the noise made by the gulls, 
the writer continues: 'Now and then — in- 
deed, as if by mutual consent — the uproar 
entirely ceased, and the whole body settled 
themselves on a rocky inclined plane, 
interspersed with grass, just below the 
lightkeeper's dwelling, which formed their 
grand nursery establishment ; for there, in 
every stage of growth, hundreds of young 
ones were moving about. No doubt each 
parent had a perfect knowledge of its own 
offspring, though, generally speaking, there 
were no signs of recognition ; for, to all 
appearance, old and young seemed to min- 



THE GULLS. 36 1 

gle without much reference to relationship, 
and a stranger might have supposed there 
was a common, property in the nestlings. 
The only sign of parental attachment was 
that an old bird would now and then fix its 
eye in a more pointed manner upon some 
one of these living gray puff-balls of downy 
feathers, and then, suddenly opening its 
mouth, deposit at the feet of the fledgling a 
crawful of half-digested shrimps and soft- 
ened crabs.' 

"And now," said Miss Harson, " I will 
read you a few lines of poetry written on 
the ' Sea-Gull/ and I think you will like 
them as well as I do : 



1 White bird of the tempest ! O beautiful thing ! 
With the bosom of snow and the motionless wing, 
Now sweeping the billow, now floating on high, 
Now bathing thy plumes in the light of the sky ; 
Now poising o'er ocean thy delicate form, 
Now breasting the surge with thy bosom so warm ; 
Now darting aloft with a heavenly scorn, 
Now shooting along like a ray of the morn ; 
Now lost in the folds of the cloud-curtained dome, 
Now floating abroad like a flake of the foam ; 
Now silently poised o'er the war of the main, 
Like the spirit of Charity brooding o'er Pain ; 
Now gliding with pinion all silently furled, 
Like an angel descending to comfort the world ." ' 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

NO BEAUTIES: THE PENGUIN. 

"/^XNLY look at these funny birds all 
\^/ in a row !" said Clara, laughing. 
" They are standing up on their hind feet." 

" Their hind feet are the only feet the) r 
have," replied Miss Harson, " and these are 
so far back that when the birds are standing 
on them they look like dogs begging. The 
penguins form another large class of sea- 
birds, perhaps the most peculiar of any, as 
they are said to have the qualities of men, 
of birds and of fishes : ' Like men, they are 
upright; like birds, they are feathered; 
and like fishes, they have fin-like append- 
ages that beat the water before and serve 
for all the purposes of swimming rather 
than flying/ 

"The penguin has scarcely any legs at 
all, and, were it not for the help of its 

362 



THE PENGUIN. 363 

equally short wings in walking, it would 
hardly be able to move faster than a tor- 
toise. It is so much better fitted for water 
than for land that it spends most of its time 
there and flies after fish with great rapidity. 
"The king- penguins, as they are called, 



PENGUINS (Aptenodytes). 

are found in the Southern Ocean, and are 
larger than a goose ; they are very numer- 
ous on the lonely islands scattered over the 
dreary wilderness of those seas. 'As their 
legs project from their bodies in the same 
direction with their tails, they walk upright ; 



364 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

and when a flock of them are seen moving 
in file or arranged along the ledges of the 
rocks, they appear like a company of sol- 
diers, for they hold their heads very high, 
with stretched necks, while their little flap- 
pers project like two arms. As the feathers 
on their breasts are beautifully white, with a 
line of black running across the crop, they 
have been by others compared to a row of 
children with white aprons tied round their 
waists with black strings.' " 

The two little girls were very much taken 
with this idea, while Malcolm pronounced 
the penguins " funny-looking things, any 
way." 

" It is very amusing to read of their 
nest-building,'' continued Miss Harson, 
" which is certainly a wonderful perform- 
ance. It seems that before they go to work 
they assemble on the shore and seem to 
spend a day or two in deliberation ; at the 
end of this time they begin the grand work 
for which they appear to have met together. 
They fix upon as level a piece of ground 
as they can find, often four or five acres in 
extent, and as near the water as possible, 



THE PENGUIN. 365 

keeping clear of stones and other hard 
substances which might injure their eggs. 
They next lay out an oblong space large 
enough to accommodate the whole multitude, 
and this they clear entirely of stones, which 
they carry outside the lines until they raise 
quite a little wall on three sides, the other 
side being open to the water, which it 
faces. 'Within the range of stones and 
rubbish they form a pathway six or seven 
feet in width, quite smooth. On this path 
they all walk by day, and on it the sentinels 
patrol by night. Having thus finished what 
may be called their outworks, they next lay 
out the whole area in little squares of equal 
size, formed by narrow paths, which cross 
each other at right angles, and which are 
also made very smooth. At each inter- 
section of these paths an albatross con- 
structs her nest, while in the centre of 
each little square is a penguin's nest/ " 

" Isn't that funny nest-making !" exclaimed 
Malcolm. 

" It is indeed/' was the reply ; " it more 
resembles burrowing as the rabbits do than 
making nests like birds. But we have not 



366 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

quite finished with them yet. Nearly the 
whole marked-out space is taken up by 
penguins, albatrosses and a few other sea- 
birds, which find room in unoccupied spots. 
The nests of the albatrosses are very 
different from those of the penguins ; and 
the latter birds will rob their neighbors 
whenever they can. The penguin makes a 
hollow in the earth just deep enough to 
prevent her one egg — possibly two — from 
rolling out; while the albatross piles up a 
little mound of earth, grass and shells 
about the size of a small water-bucket, and 
sits on the top of it. 

" The poor people who live on the wild 
and lonely islands where these birds are 
found depend very much on them as a 
means of support, as their clothing, their 
food and their lamplight all come from 
this source." 

" Isn't it wicked for them to take the 
poor birds' eggs, Miss Harson?" asked 
little Edith. 

" Not when they are obliged to do it 
for a living, dear," replied her governess. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



ALMOST HUMAN: THE PARROT 



[HERE! What do they 
look like?" asked Miss 
Harson as she smiling- 
ly watched the chil- 
dren's admiration and 
astonishment. 

Such an array of 
parrots could not be 
found out of a tropic- 
al forest — parrots of 
all shapes, sizes and col- 
ors, some perched upon branches, some 
with wings spread, some hanging by their 
beaks and swinging to and fro ; but all 
apparently having a very good time of 
it, and doubtless chattering and scream- 
ing with all their might and main. It was 
a gorgeously-colored picture : the bright- 

367 




368 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

est reds and blues and greens seemed 
mingled with all the colors of the rain- 
bow; and when the children finally de- 
cided that the parrots looked more like 
great gaudy flowers than like anything 
else of which they could think, their gov- 
erness thought it a very good compari- 
son. 

" These gayest of the gay birds/' said 
Miss Harson, "are the macaws. Scarlet 
and blue are their predominant colors, 
mixed with some yellow and green. They 
are found in the recesses of South Amer- 
ican forests, and also in some parts of the 
East and West Indies. The real parrots 
are found in all tropical regions, the beau- 
tiful scarlet lories in India, and the funny 
cockatoos in Australia. 

"There are a great many varieties of 
parrots ; and in the majority of this family 
we find a plumage which for richness and 
variety of coloring yields to few of the 
feathered race. Though by some it may 
be thought gaudy and too violently and 
abruptly contrasted, still we think no one 
can look at some of the gorgeously-decked 



THE PARROT. 369 

macaws and the splendid and effulgent 
lories, or the diversely-tinted Australian 
parrakeets, without acknowledging them 
to Le among the most beautiful and strik- 
ing of the feathered race." 

" The figures of parrots cannot be called 
elegant, the head and bill being too large 
for the rest of the body. In parrakeets 
this defect is balanced by a very long 
tail, and their gracefulness of movement 
is quite unsurpassed. The feet of this 
whole class of birds are very curious, two 
toes being placed forward and two backward. 
They are evidently formed for firm cling- 
ing and climbing. It is in those regions 
where the trees are clothed with perpet- 
ual verdure, and where a constant store of 
fruits and seeds can be found, that parrots 
abound in the greatest number. 

" In captivity these birds never show 
the ease and grace which marks them 
in their native forests. There they are 
seen climbing about the branches in every 
direction and suspending themselves in 
every possible attitude, all their move- 
ments being assisted by the hooked and 



37° BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

powerful bill, which is as useful as a 
hand or a third foot would be. Their 
large pointed wings show that they also 
have great powers of flight. - 

"Parrots spend very little time in nest- 
building, but bring up their families in the 
hollows of decayed trees, the eggs, which 
vary in number from two to five or six, 
being laid on the bare, rotten wood. They 
are fond of roosting during the night in 
these cavities ; and some one says : 'At 
dusk a flock of parrakeets may be seen 
alighting against the trunk of a sycamore 
or any other tree where a considerable 
excavation exists within it. Immediately 
below the entrance the birds all cling to 
the bark, and crawl into the hole to pass 
the night When such a hole does not 
prove sufficient to hold the whole flock, 
those around the entrance hook themselves 
on by their claws and the tip of the upper 
mandible/ " 

"That's one way of going to bed!" 
laughed Malcolm. "I should think they 
would drop off." 

" It can scarcely be called going to bed," 



THE PARROT. 



371 



was the reply; "but this singular style 
of sleeping is also peculiar to bats, and 




PARROT AND YOUNG. 



possibly to some other creatures whose 
habits we shall study." 



372 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS, 

" Do parrots talk to one another when 
they live in the woods ?" asked Clara. 

" Not as we talk, dear ; the natural 
notes of parrots are merely shrill, piercing 
screams. To imitate the human voice, the 
bird must first hear us speak. Nor can 
all parrots do this, the power of articulat- 
ing words being chiefly confined to the 
ordinary species, in which the tongue is 
large, broad and fleshy at the tip. They 
do not seem to mind captivity,, even if 
taken when grown, and they are partic- 
ularly fond of human society. The macaw 
especially is very docile and talkative, and 
it is more apt to be good-tempered than 
are the generality of parrots. 

" Parrots will also imitate other birds and 
strange sounds with great exactness. It is 
related that ' a parrot caught the note of a 
chaffinch so accurately that it was impos- 
sible to tell the one from the other. In 
summer-time Polly used to be indulged 
by being placed in a tree, where she took 
much delight in climbing about the branches. 
At these times she would frequently repeat 
the chaffinch's note, when the birds would 



THE PARROT. 373 

come from all quarters and settle upon the 
tree. It was then highly amusing to hear 
the parrot and the chaffinches call one 
another. After a time, however, Polly, in 
the exuberance of her delight at the sight 
of so many winged creatures around her, 
would suddenly call out, ' Pretty Poll !' 
when the chaffinches, startled at so human 
a sound, instantly took flight and made 
their escape as speedily as possible ; and 
Polly looked woefully astonished to find her 
visitors had so suddenly deserted her.' 

" The voice of this bird is more like a 
man's than that of any other. The raven's 
is too hoarse, and the jay's and the magpie's 
are too shrill; but the parrot's note is of 
the true pitch and capable of a variety of 
modulations. For this it is indebted to the 
form of its bill, tongue and head. In ad- 
dition to the talent of speech, the parrot is 
endowed with a strong memory, and with 
more sagacity than falls to the lot of most 
birds. Parrots really do so many won- 
derful things in the way of speech that 
it is not surprising there should be very 
extraordinary stories afloat concerning 



374 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

them. They have even been accused of 
repeating poetry, and one was said to 
repeat a whole sonnet from Petrarch." 

" Do you believe that, Miss Harson ?" 
asked Malcolm, incredulously. 

" I do not think it probable," was the 
reply, " and scarcely possible ; yet the 
memory of some of these birds is certainly 
very wonderful. They are particularly fond, 
too, of mischievous jokes and of disappoint- 
ing people when anything is expected of 
them. Some one says of a gray parrot 
' that he whistles and sings capitally ; only, 
if he sees that he is watched, he abruptly 
ceases, and tries to look as if he had been 
quite silent. His chief amusement is to 
sit in the window, behind some green 
shrubs, and to startle passengers, especially 
ladies, by uttering a tremendous scream 
close to their ears. He imitates a canary 
whose cage hangs near his window, and 
has managed to catch the song of the little 
bird very well ; only he has a habit of 
spoiling the effect of the music by break- 
ing off and laughing in the middle of his 
song/ 



THE PARROT. 375 

"Another parrot had been placed at an 
open window while some painters were 
engaged upon a row of posts that crossed 
the pathway. They were constantly call- 
ing out * Wet paint 1' to the passers-by, and 
the parrot learned the phrase at once. 
From that time one of his chief amuse- 
ments was to call out 'Wet paint!' and 
then wait to see the people start and 
cautiously thread their way between the 
posts. 

" One parrot appeared to derive most of 
his pleasure in life from teasing the family 
cat, and whenever he was let out of his 
cage he invariably went to look for her. 
When found, he began his attentions by 
biting her ears or her tail — a proceeding 
that appeared to give him great enjoyment; 
but it was not at all relished by the cat. 
Yet when he could catch Tabby napping, 
his happiness was complete ; for then he 
had a fine chance of frightening her. Very 
quietly indeed would he steal up to the spot 
where she was lying, dreaming, perhaps, of 
a land peopled altogether with rats and 
mice, and suddenly scream in her ear, 



37& BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

'Who are you?' Poor Puss! how she 
would jump ! while her tormentor fairly 
shrieked with delight/' 

" He ought to have had a good whip- 
ping," said Malcolm, promptly. 

"The cat was probably of the same 
opinion," replied his teacher, " but it would 
be a rather difficult matter to whip a bird. 
This same parrot, it seems, always objected 
to a noise that was not made by himself. 
One day some small boys came on a visit 
to the house where he was kept, and began 
to romp and play in boy fashion in the same 
room with the parrot. Polly screamed out 
indignantly, ' Sarah ! here's a row !' When 
wild in their native woods, the parrots 
amuse themselves at the expense of their 
neighbors, but they are not cunning enough 
always to escape from the more mischievous 
monkeys. The one in our picture has had 
a narrow escape evidently, as he makes off 
with the loss of his tail-feathers, which, 
happily for him, were not too firmly attached 
to his body. 

"A very remarkable parrot-story is of 
one that belonged to King Henry VII., 




PARROT AND MONKEYS. 



378 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

who was then residing at Westminster, in 
his palace by the river Thames. This bird 
had learned a variety of words and sen- 
tences from constantly hearing so many 
different people who stopped there to go 
up or down the river. But one day, while 
jumping around on its perch, the parrot 
fell into the water, crying out at the same 
time, as loud as it could scream, 'A boat ! 
Twenty pounds for a boat!' A waterman 
who heard the cry ran to the place where 
the parrot was floating, and, grasping the 
draggled bird, returned him in safety to his 
royal owner. The parrot was a great 
favorite, and the man who had saved him 
demanded twenty pounds for his services, 
because, as he said, that was the sum 
promised by the bird himself and the king 
was in honor bound to pay it. But Henry 
VII. was especially fond of money, and 
twenty pounds appeared to him a very 
large sum to part with just for fishing a 
parrot out of the water. Finally, both 
agreed to leave it to the bird himself. 
When he was appealed to, the ungrateful 
parrot replied, with a chuckle, ' Give the 



THE PARROT. 379 

knave a groat!' A groat," added Miss 
Harson, " is a very small coin — less than a 
penny ; and this is probably all that the 
man got for his trouble." 

"What a mean king!" exclaimed Mal- 
colm, contemptuously. "And if that par- 
rot fell into the water again, I hope he 
stayed there." 

" Here is an account," continued the 
governess, "of a parrot turned school- 
master. Some travelers going up the 
Amazon River heard an extraordinary 
noise like chattering and swearing; and, 
having landed their boat, they took their 
guns and crept quietly to the tree from 
whence the sound proceeded. A very 
singular sight presented itself. On the 
topmost branch was perched a large green 
parrot, while on the neighboring branches 
were seated a host of his companions, 
whom he was teaching to talk. His lan- 
guage was the Portuguese, and he would 
give out a short sentence in that tongue, 
it being imitated by the crowd below. 
Then he would dance and roll his head 
and laugh, and all the other parrots did 



3^0 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

the same things. Unfortunately, however, 
one of the scholars saw the intruders ; 
and, giving notice to his companions, they 
all flew away, with their green professor 
at their head." 

The children were very much delighted 
with the parrot-school, and thought how 
much surprised people would be to find 
a flock of talking parrots in a wood ; for 
there was no doubt that the professor would 
at least succeed in teaching them Portu- 
guese. 

"Here is a lady's account of a pet par- 
rot," said Miss Harson, " which I think 
particularly interesting: 'When I was a 
child, I had a fine gray parrot called Ben. 
He was a funny, good-natured fellow, with 
a dash of vanity in his composition, which 
manifested itself in a love of dress. You 
could not please him more than by attiring 
him in a doll's hat and cloak ; and when so 
arrayed, he would strut about the room in 
the most dignified manner, evidently ad- 
miring his exceedingly comical appear- 
ance. He would also enter thoroughly 
into the fun of the game of 'make-be- 



THE PARROT. 38 1 

lieve;' for if told to go to sleep, he would 
instantly shut his eyes and appear per- 
fectly unconscious even when called by 
name. , But if we maintained an unusual 
degree of silence, he would slyly peep 
about to see if he were being observed ; 
and if he found us watching him, he 
would again close his eyes and become 
oblivious. But if he saw that we were 
engaged, he would turn his attention to 
botanical researches among the flowers, 
or some other equally destructive occu- 
pation/ 

" The same bird would also feign death 
when ordered, and would permit himself 
to be pulled about by the feathers as he 
lay on the floor without any signs of life. But 
he would not permit a stranger's hand to 
approach him, and, being aware of the pres- 
ence of the strange fingers by some internal 
instinct, greeted them with a sharp snap." 

Clara and Edith decided that there 
would be some comfort in a parrot like 
that — one who actually enjoyed being 
dressed up in doll's clothes. Malcolm 
thought there was more fun in the pro- 



382 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

fessor or in the parrot that fell into the 
Thames ; but the little girls insisted that 
Ben was " the sweetest." 

" The parrots in the picture," said Clara, 
"look ugly because of their great hooked 
bills. I should be afraid of them." 

"An angry parrot w r ould not be pleas- 
ant to deal with," replied Miss Harson, 
"on account of both beak and claws. 
This beak is very strong, and parrots de- 
light in nothing so much as in nibbling 
and pecking at various objects. Nuts 
and peach-stones will amuse them for a 
long time, and it is related of a certain 
Polly that ' he was very fond of most 
fruits, but his great favorite was a wal- 
nut. His beak could not open wide 
enough to take an entire walnut at once, 
so as to crack it, and therefore a half 
nut at a time was given him. With that 
he was delighted ; and he showed his 
gratification by a short inward chuckle 
which lasted until the nut was finished. 
One half walnut would last nearly three 
hours before he could pick out the entire 
contents. 



THE PARROT. 383 

"'This he did in a very scientific manner. 
He held the nut tightly in one claw, and 
then, by means of the tip of his beak, 
picked out small morsels, and conveyed 
them to his mouth by his tongue. He 
seemed to use his beak in much the same 
manner as a miner uses a pickaxe — namely, 
by driving the point of it into the substance 
of the nut, and then prizing out a morsel 
on the lever principle. If I wished to be 
very kind indeed or to reward the bird for 
good conduct, I was accustomed to remove 
the shell and present him with the kernel. 
This caused him singular gratification, and 
he used to dance with delight and pour out 
quite a stream of chuckling as he held the 
nut on the point of his sharp beak/ 

"Another parrot delighted in peach- 
stones, and cared for nothing else so long 
as he could get one of these dainties. 
His exertions to crack the stone formed a 
large part of his amusement, but he got 
very angry at every failure ; for the peach- 
stone was too hard for him, al thou eh he 
managed to crack nuts without any trouble. 

" But our parrot evening," added Miss 



384 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

Harson, " has been an unusually long one, 
and it must now come to an end. We 
have not quite finished the family, though, 
and must next time take what remains of 
them." 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

A SCREECHER; THE COCKATOO. 

WHAT a funny-looking bird !" ex- 
claimed Clara. " Isn't it an owl, 
Miss Harson ?" 

"'The Great White Cockatoo/ " read 
Malcolm. " Well, it does look like an owl, 
little sister, and no mistake. See its funny 
ears sticking up, and its ruff of feathers. " 

" The ears are rather imaginary, Mal- 
colm," said his governess ; " but the cocka- 
toos certainly are odd-looking birds, and 
closely allied to parrots. This large white 
one is about the size of a domestic fowl, 
and its plumage is of pure white, with the 
exception of what are called the large pen- 
feathers and the outermost feathers of the 
tail: these are sulphur-colored on the inside 
for about halfway from the root. The tuft, 
or crest, on the head — which is the cocka- 

25 385 



386 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

too's particular badge — is five inches long 
and can be raised or lowered at pleasure, 

" There are a smaller white cockatoo and 
a red-crested cockatoo. The whole plum- 
age of the latter species is tinged with 
pale rose-color. Here is his portrait, and 
he is certainly one of the handsomest birds 
we have yet seen." 

The little girls so warmly admired this 
beautiful foreigner that Malcolm accused 
them of coveting his feathers for their 
dolls' hats. After this idea had been sug- 
gested, they gazed at them more wistfully 
than ever. 

" The red-crested cockatoo is a very 
majestic bird," continued Miss Harson ; 
"he is even larger than the great white 
cockatoo, but not nearly so affectionate. 
He will imitate the cries of animals, and 
seems to take special delight in the cack- 
ling of hens and the crowing of cocks. He 
spends much of his time in screaming 
' Cockatoo !' like most of the species ; 
and, as his noises are accompanied by a con- 
stant flapping of the wings, he is anything 
but a quiet bird. 



THE COCKATOO. 387 

" These birds are all natives of the Mo- 
lucca Islands, though many of the species 
are to be found in Australia. They are 
generally kept in a large bell-shaped cage 
made of wire, with two perches and a large 




leadbeater's cockatoo {Cacatua Leadbeateri). 

metal ring, in which they delight to swing. 
A large white cockatoo took great pleasure 
in having some one swing him round as fast 
as possible while he held on with his claws. 
As he went through the air he would cry 
out in delight, * Oh what a lark ! Oh what 
a lark !' " 



388 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

"Can the cockatoos talk, just like par- 
rots?" asked Clara. 

" Not so well as parrots," was the reply. 
" It is said to be difficult to teach cockatoos 
to speak at all. They listen better than 
other parrots, and are more obedient, but 
in vain attempt to repeat what is said to 
them, and seem as if they tried to make up 
for this by affectionate caresses and other 
expressions of feeling-. Their mild disposi- 
tion and graceful motions add much to their 
beauty. In some parts of India, we are 
told, they become so domesticated as to 
build their nests on the roofs of the houses. 

" Many years ago a pair of cockatoos 
were exhibited in Paris and did many 
wonderful things. When ordered to do 
so, they would spread out their crests, sa- 
lute the company with a nod, with beak 
and tongue touch articles pointed out, 
answer questions ■ Yes ' or ' No ' by cer- 
tain signs, and in the same manner tell the 
hour, the number of persons in the room, 
the color of their clothes, etc. They would 
also kiss each other, and were said to be 
very affectionate. 



THE COCKATOO, 389 

"In Australia cockatoos are often hunted 
by the natives for the sake of their flesh ; 
but, as they are very shy and easily fright- 
ened in their wild state, the hunter begins 
cautiously. He knows that these birds are 
fond of roosting near a stream of water ; 
so he watches quietly on the bank until he 
sees a flock in the air. The birds fly to 
the large trees around the stream ; and 
with a wonderful deal of screaming and 
fluttering and flying from tree to tree they 
finally settle themselves for their evening 
nap. 

" The native creeps quietly along, taking 
great care to make no sound, and steals 
cautiously from tree to tree and from 
bush to bush, getting nearer and nearer 
to his prey. But, in spite of all his care, 
the sentinel-birds suddenly give the alarm, 
and away fly the flock to the tree that is 
nearest the water, huddling close together, 
as if knowing that danger is near. Then 
the native goes close to the water, and the 
frightened birds plainly see their enemy. 
They utter loud cries of terror and spring 
into the air as if trying to escape, but the 



39° BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

hunter has only to draw his boomerang 
from his belt and fling it with violence. 
First it goes downward, as if about to drop 
into the water, and then it spins upward in 
a very strange manner and darts through 
the air, making all kinds of turns and 
twists, in each of which it is sure to strike 
a cockatoo. The curious weapon actually 
seems to be alive; and the more the terri- 
fied birds try to escape it, the more they 
seem to get in its way, and with loud 
screams numbers of them fall to the 
ground. But the hunter is not easily 
satisfied ; and, knowing that cockatoos are 
very affectionate, he picks up a wounded 
one and fastens it on a tree. When the 
other birds hear the piteous cries of their 
companion, they fly back to see what is the 
matter. Then up goes the dreadful boom- 
erang again, and one, two or more fall dead 
or wounded. 

" Cockatoos make their nests in the 
decayed boughs of trees and lay two pure- 
white eggs. But they are not very wise 
about these nests, for in making them the 
old birds gather twigs from the neighbor- 



THE COCKATOO. 39 1 

ing trees and strip off the bark, letting the 
shreds fall to the ground ; so that under 
the tree where there is a nest a little heap 
of bark is generally to be found, and this 
tells the natives where to find young cock- 
atoos, of which they are particularly fond." 

" Poor cockatoos !" said Clara ; " I should 
think they would like best to live in cages, 
where they are safe." 

"They seem very happy in captivity," 
replied Miss Harson, "and sometimes en- 
joy a mischievous prank quite as much 
as do the parrots. A lady who was in 
the habit of visiting a family where a 
cockatoo was kept was often frightened 
by the bird's making a sudden spring 
from the other end of the cage, as if 
about to fly at her, whenever she ap- 
proached his domain, and the visitor's 
shrieks, mingled with the screams of the 
cockatoo, produced a dreadful din. The 
bird really seemed to enjoy finding some 
one who could scream louder than he 
did. 

" Cockatoos are much afraid of snakes, 
and look upon them with a mixture of hor- 



39 2 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

ror and detestation that fearfully excites 
them ; and a naturalist who had been in the 
habit of strolling into the parrot-house at 
the Zoological Gardens in London was 
very much surprised, one day, to find that 
his entrance seemed to be the signal for 
a wild and general disturbance. Parrots, 
macaws and cockatoos shrieked their in- 
dignation at the intrusion ; and such a 
clamor as they raised, he says — such a 
whirlwind of discordant sounds — would 
certainly have done credit to Babel. He 
left the place in disgust, and walked around 
the garden until they became quiet again. 
But no sooner did he appear for the 
second time than the same scene again 
occurred. Wondering very much at this 
reception, when he had hitherto been a 
welcome visitor, he approached an old 
favorite cockatoo, and, holding up before 
her face a little walking-cane that he car- 
ried, he began to expostulate with her 
on such behavior. Instantly the bird be- 
came a perfect picture of rage and terror; 
with crest erected to the highest point, 
staring eyes and trembling all over, she 



THE COCKATOO. 393 

retreated to the very end of her chain, 
and struck with her wings at the cane 
as if fighting for her very life. 

"And so indeed the poor bird thought 
she was doing ; for when the visitor 
glanced at his cane, he saw at once the 
cause of her fury, the head of the walk- 
ing-stick being carved to imitate that of 
a serpent with brilliant eyes and a most 
threatening aspect. The supposed appear- 
ance of so terrible a foe among the peace- 
ful party had roused their natural instinct 
of self-defence and caused them to pay 
a noisy tribute to the skill of the carver. 

"And now," added Miss Harson, "I 
have ended our study of birds and their 
ways with parrots and cockatoos, because 
these strange foreign creatures are so 
often seen in captivity far from their 
native lands that they scarcely seem to 
belong anywhere in particular. They have 
been great favorites as cage-birds and 
household pets from very early times ; 
and in the reign of Nero a great many 
parrots were taken to Rome from differ- 
ent parts of Africa. These were placed 



394 BIRDS AND THEIR WA KS*. 

in very elegant and costly cages made 
of silver, ivory and tortoise-shell, and so 
highly were they valued that the price 
of a parrot was often equal to that of a 
slave.' ' 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

TWO GREAT NATURALISTS. 

"\\ 7E have really learned a great deal 
V V about birds," said Miss Harson, 
" and before we leave the subject I think 
it will be pleasant to hear something about 
two men who have given us much informa- 
tion which they gathered with great labor 
and patience. One of these men was an 
Englishman, and the other an American. 
The name of the Englishman is Thomas 
Bewick, and Malcolm must tell us the 
name of the American." 

"Audubon !" shouted Malcolm, promptly. 
"And he drew all these pictures that you 
have shown us, Miss Harson." 

"How did he do it?" asked Edie, very 
seriously. " Did he put the poor little 
birds down on the paper and then take 
a lead-pencil and mark around them?" 

395 



39^ BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

Clara and Malcolm laughed at this idea ; 
but the governess answered kindly: 

" No, dear child ; that is not the way that 
drawings are made, and especially of birds 
and animals. But you will know about it 
by and by. The great English naturalist 
— or bird-lover, as he was principally known 
— Thomas Bewick, was born in the year 
1753, on a farm near Newcastle, and in 
looking at this portrait of a respectable 
elderly gentleman it is not easy to be- 
lieve that he was a remarkably mischiev- 
ous boy." 

Malcolm quite agreed with the young 
lady as, with the other children, he bent 
over the volume in Miss Harson's hand ; 
but he now found the naturalist a much 
more interesting character than he had 
expected. 

" It was the fashion to flog boys a great 
deal in those days, and Thomas got a double 
share at school and at home, until his teach- 
er, for whom he had a great affection, per- 
suaded him to turn over a new leaf. He 
said of his father that 'he had always set 
him the example and taken every oppor- 



TWO GREAT NATURALISTS. 397 

tunity of showing how much he detested 
meanness, and of drawing forth every par- 
ticle of pride within me for the purpose of 
directing it in the right way;' and finally he 
became a noble and good man. 

" Bewick left school when he was but four- 
teen, and his great ambition was to draw 
pictures. He had practiced on his slate, 
on scraps of paper, and on almost any- 
thing that he could get. He w r ould even 
draw with chalk on gravestones, the porch 
floor at the church, and at night on the 
flags and hearthstone before the fire, which 
scorched his earnest face. To his great 
delight, some one gave him a quantity of 
paper, and on this he drew with pen and 
ink and bramble-berry juice. 'Afterward, 
equipped with camel's-hair pencils and shells 
of colors, he executed, without patterns of 
any kind, paintings of birds, beasts, land- 
scapes, and hunting-scenes in particular, 
which he soon had the satisfaction of see- 
ing hung on the walls of his admiring 
neighbors' houses/ 

" It is said that he began to study the 
habits of birds at a very early age, and 



398 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

that he would climb to any height to se- 
cure a nest. He also went fishing and 
hunting, and seemed to enjoy the study 
of all livinor things. He went into busi- 
ness as an engraver after serving his time 
as apprentice, and, besides working in met- 
als, he made a great many wood-cuts for 
books. His volume of Quadrupeds, for 
which his partner did the writing, was very 
much admired. Then came the History of 
Bj'itish Birds, of which Bewick did nearly 
all the writing, as well as make the pictures ; 
and he did it, too, in what time he could 
spare from the shop. 

" Thomas Bewick was a great worker 
as long as he lived, and he made many 
improvements in the art of engraving. He 
had noticed, when a boy, the coarseness 
of the wood-cuts that were seen on the 
walls of people's houses, and he speedily 
resolved to do something better. This 
gift was of great use to him in preparing 
his books, and the British Birds is illus- 
trated with over five hundred engravings. 
He must often have been tired, as well 
as discouraged, with so much on his hands, 



TWO GREA T NA TURA LISTS. 399 

but he persevered ; and, besides doing a 
great deal of work, he lived to a good 
old age. 

"When he died, in 1828, he was famed 
far and near as a self- trained naturalist 
and wood-engraver. We owe the begin- 
ning of our many illustrated books and 
periodicals to Thomas Bewick, who, when 
a boy, closely observed the tavern- signs in 
the country around him ; and one of these 
— * The Hounds and Hare ' — he was quite 
sure he could improve if he tried. Very 
likely he had drawn the picture on his 
slate over and over again. 

"The, History of British Birds is his 
best-known work, and at the time of his 
death he had begun a new one, to be 
called History of British Fishes, His last 
wood-cut was a vignette for this book, 
representing the farmhouse of Cherryburn, 
where he was born, and his own funeral pro- 
cession winding down the hillside. " 

" He must have been a very funny man," 
said Clara. 

" He was odd in many ways," replied 
Miss Harson, "and his book of Wood- Cuts 



400 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

has many amusing as well as some very 
queer things in it. At that time — for it is 
more than half a century since he died — 
people had different ideas of funny and 
amusing things from those that prevail 
now, and they often said and wrote what 
we would not think proper. Bewick made 
the study of natural history popular, both 
by his cheap wood-cuts and by his own 
knowledge of the subject, mostly gained 
while he was a boy, and through his la- 
bors many who came after him have been 
able to study and do even better than he 
did. — And now what do you think of the 
English naturalist, Malcolm ?" 

" Well, Miss Harson," replied that young 
gentleman, frankly, "I think he had the best 
time when he was a boy — except the flog- 
gings." 

" He wasn't a good boy," said little Edie, 
" to steal birds' nests." 

"No, dear," replied their governess, "not 
if he had stolen them for his own amuse- 
ment or for cruelty. But I do not think he 
did ; for those who undertake to become 
thoroughly acquainted with birds have to 



TWO GREAT NATURALISTS. 4OI 

study them from the very beginning. — 
And, as to Bewick's ' best time/ Malcolm," 
she continued, with a smile, "you are think- 
ing of the tree-climbing and fishing and 
hunting and drawing pictures — a real 
boy's idea of enjoyment ; but don't you 
think that when this wild Thomas be- 
came a man, he had his best time when 
he was doing so much to improve his 
fellow-men ?" 

Yes, after some reflection, Malcolm sup- 
posed he had ; but Miss Harson laughed, 
for it was evident that Bewick as a boy 
appeared to her pupil a much more love- 
ly character than Bewick as a man. 

" I like him," said Clara, very decidedly, 
as they gazed at a portrait of Audubon ; 
"he looks like — like an old lion." 

"That is not a bad comparison, little 
girl," replied her governess. " Our own 
American naturalist is a noble-looking man, 
and does suggest the king of animals. His 
name, you see, is French, and his ancestors 
came from France ; but he was born in 
Louisiana in 1782, when Thomas Bewick 
was twenty-nine years old. 

26 



402 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

"John James Audubon was attracted 
from his earliest childhood by the songs 
and appearance of birds, and his greatest 
delight was to wander through the woods 
and listen to their different notes. He 
was encouraged in this by his father, who 
took pains to interest him in the beautiful 
things of nature ; and the habits and varie- 
ties of birds, animals and flowers were care- 
fully explained on the excursions which 
father and son often made together. 

" Like young Bewick, Audubon tried to 
teach himself drawing while a boy, that he 
might preserve the beautiful appearance 
of the birds and flowers which he found 
in the woods ; but when he was fifteen, 
his father sent him to Paris to finish his 
education, and here, for two years, he 
took lessons of the celebrated painter 
David. This was a great advantage to 
our young naturalist ; and when, at eigh- 
teen, he returned to America, his father 
gave him a farm near Philadelphia. 

"Audubon's house was a lovely spot at 
the junction of the Perkiomen Creek and 
the Schuylkill, and he spent nearly his 



TWO GREAT NATURALISTS. 403 

whole time out of doors, roaming about 
in quest of birds, flowers and small ani- 
mals to draw and paint from nature. 
He would start out at daylight, and re- 
turn wet with dew in the evening, often 
carrying some rare bird, whose likeness 
was soon transferred to paper. 

"And now, Edie darling," said Miss Har- 
son, " I will explain to you how these pict- 
ures were made. Audubon's were all 
life-size — that is, as large as the bird it- 
self, instead of being made much smaller, 
like most pictures. The dead bird was 
placed before the artist as he sat there 
with his drawing-paper and pencils and 
brushes and paints ; and he was so care- 
ful to get every part of it the exact size 
that he measured the beak and body and 
talons, and all the rest of it, before he 
made the lines on paper. No trouble 
was too much for him to take, and it is 
because of his great patience and indus- 
try that these beautiful plates give us 
so much pleasure now: 

"While yet a very young man Audubon 
married and went to live in Louisville, 



404 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

Kentucky. He was a great sportsman, 
and during the two years of his stay there 
he killed and sketched all the birds he 
could find. Other hunters in the neigh- 
borhood, hearing of his fame, would shoot 
birds and animals for him to add to his 
collection, until he had at least two hun- 
dred specimens. He had entered into 
business with a partner, but out of the 
woods he spent his time in sketching, 
while the partner kept the books ; and 
both seemed satisfied with this arrange- 
ment." 

" I'd rather have been Audubon," said 
Malcolm, admiringly. " What good times 
he must have had !" 

" Yes, for he enjoyed his work. But 
remember, Malcolm, that it was work, and 
that even his roaming the woods, which 
you think so pleasant, was done with an 
object; for our naturalist was not a self- 
pleasing idler. 

"Audubon moved almost as often as 
the Arabs, and from Louisville he went 
farther up the Ohio River, near the great 
forests of that region. The village of Hen- 



TWO GREAT NATURALISTS. 405 

derson, in which he made his home, then 
contained only six or eight houses, and 
one of them was a very small log hut 
which happened to be empty, and here 
the little family of father and mother and 
infant son settled down for a while. All 
around them was dense forest, but they 
found kind neighbors even in this lonely 
spot ; and Audubon and his wife were 
as happy as possible, roaming the woods 
together and carrying their child with them. 
The only business to be thought of now was 
hunting and fishing. 

" But the restless bird-hunter soon want- 
ed fresh forests to explore ; and, although 
his family and friends begged him to re- 
main where he was, he resolved to leave 
his home for a time that he might lead 
a more completely wandering life. * He 
set out with a valise on his back con- 
taining his diary, his colors, his brushes 
and pencils and a small supply of linen, 
which he made use of, when required, to 
furbish his fowling-piece, and plunged into 
the prairies/ 

" Thousands of people have enjoyed the 



406 BIRDS AND THEIR WA VS. 

results of this wild tramp ; for not only 
has Audubon painted and described the 
numerous species of birds which inhabit 
the vast continent that extends from 
Mexico to Labrador, but in five thick 
volumes he has given lively picturesque 
sketches of the strange characters and 
incidents which he encountered on the 
way, and graphic descriptions of the won- 
derful scenery. He slept by night at the 
foot of a tree, killed game and cooked 
it for food, and floated down hundreds of 
miles along mighty rivers in a frail canoe, 
sketching as he went, everywhere braving 
fatigue and disappointment with dauntless 
courage. And all this without any idea 
of gain, but just because he loved it." 

Malcolm seemed to think that any boy 
or man might love such a delightful way 
of living as that, and he would have been 
only too glad to try it himself; but Clara 
and Edith asked timidly if Audubon wasn't 
afraid of bears and things. 

" No," replied their governess : " he did 
not know what fear was ; and the ' bears 
and things ' were probably afraid of him. 



TWO GREAT NATURALISTS. 407 

"In 1824, when the naturalist was no 
longer a young man, another famous bird- 
lover, Charles Lucien Bonaparte, introduced 
him to the Natural History Society of Phil- 
adelphia, and therh he began to feel a de- 
sire to do something that would be worth 
showing. The drawings he had already 
made were very much admired, but Au- 
dubon believed that he could do better 
things ; and he was soon off again to 
visit the great lakes of the North. 

" In the vast forests on their borders 
he thought much of the undertaking of 
getting his large drawings published. He 
was little known, and had no wealthy friends 
to help him ; besides birds, he had also 
painted flowers, plants, insects, reptiles 
and fishes, which were as faithfully copied. 
Finally, he returned to his family, who had 
moved to Louisiana, and explored all the 
large forests in that region for fresh speci- 
mens. Next he visited the large cities of 
the United States, trying to get subscribers 
for his books of birds ; but he did not meet 
with much success. 

"Audubon now went to England, and 



408 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

there his drawings were exhibited to the 
public and very highly praised. In Scot- 
land and in France he was also received 
with enthusiasm, and the kings of England 
and France placed their names at the head 
of his subscription-list. 

" In 1830 was published the first volume 
of Birds of America, containing ninety- 
nine birds, the size and exact representa- 
tion of the living models. Audubon then 
made a tour through the forests of Maine 
and New Brunswick and the shores of the 
Bay of Fundy, visited the coast of Labra- 
dor, and finished with Newfoundland and 
Nova Scotia. In the spring he sailed again 
for England, and in 1834 the second volume 
of Birds appeared. 

" Many years elapsed before the four 
volumes of engravings and the additional 
five of description were all published ; 
and in the four hundred and thirty-five 
plates there are over a thousand figures, 
' from the bird of Washington to the hum- 
ming-bird, of the size of life, and a great 
variety of land and marine views, and 
flowers and other productions of different 



TWO GREAT NATURALISTS. 409 

climates and seasons, all carefully drawn 
and colored after nature/ 

"Audubon had spent nearly half a cen- 
tury in collecting materials for this im- 
mense work, and it was a solemn thought 
that of those who read the first volume 
many of them might not live to enjoy 
the last. Soon after the second volumes 
of Birds of America and Ornithological Bi- 
ography were published, a nobleman and 
his family called upon Audubon in Lon- 
don, and after being told that it would take 
eight more years to finish the work he sub- 
scribed for it, saying, ' I may not see it fin- 
ished, but my children will.' 

"These words made a deep impression 
on the naturalist. ' The solemnity of his 
manner/ he writes in the introduction to 
his third volume, 'I could not forget for 
several days. I often thought that neither 
might I see the work completed, but at 
length exclaimed, " My sons may." And 
now that another volume, both of my 
illustrations and my biographies, is fin- 
ished, my trust in Providence is aug- 
mented, and I cannot but hope that my- 



4IO BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS. 

self and my family together may be per- 
mitted to see the completion of my la- 
bors/ 

"Audubon's desire was granted, and his 
life was spared for some years after his 
work was finished. He died in New York 
in 1 85 1, leaving behind him what Cuvier 
pronounced ■ the most gigantic and most 
magnificent monument that had ever been 
erected to Nature/ 

" We cannot make a better close of our 
study of birds than with the words of a 
thoughtful naturalist : 

"'It is, however, to little purpose that 
we listen with pleasure to the thousand 
voices of the birds who fly above the 
earth in the open firmament of heaven, 
unless their swelling harmony, while it 
delights our ear, leads our thoughts to 
their Creator and ours — to Him who in 
the great book of nature has been pleased 
to supply us with a commentary on that 
book of inspiration from whose pages, if 
studied aright, we may learn to acquaint 
ourselves with him and be at peace/ " 



INDEX. 

[Italics Indicate Cuts.] 



Adjutant, The, 255. 

Adjutant, The, a glutton, 

255. 

described 253, 254. 

story of, 256. 
Albatross, The Common, 343. 
Albatross, The wandering, 341. 

courtship of, 344. 

habits of, 342-345- 

superstition concerning, 
346. . 
Almost a canary, 117. 
Ancient Mariner, Coleridge's, 

346. 
Anser, 321. 
Apterodytes, 363. 
Audubon, 395. 

as a bird-hunter, 405, 406. 

childhood, 402. 

education, 402. 

his books, 408, 409. 

his death, 410. 

his drawings of birds, 403. 

honored abroad, 408. 
Bad name, A, 159. 
Bee-eater, The, 285. 



Bewick, Thomas, 395. 

boyhood, 396-398. 

early tastes, 397. 

his work, 398-400. 
Bill, A great deal of, 282. 
Bullfinch, The, 129. 
Bullfinch, The, 127. 

habits of, 129, 130. 

seminary of, 130-132. 

stories of, 132-135. 

where found, 128. 
Cacatua Leadbeateri, 387. 
Canary, The, 95. 
Canary-bird, The, 93. 

colors of, 96. 

eggs and young, 98. 

first in Europe, 97. 

native home, 94. 

nests of, 97. 

singing of, 1 00, 101, 103, 
105. 

stories of, 101, 102. 
Caprimulgus Etiropceus, 161. 
Cassozvary, The, 217. 
Cassowary, The, habits and 
traits, 216, 218. 
411 



412 



INDEX. 



Cassowary, The, stories of, 220- 

225. 
Cassowary, The Australian, 

219. 
Chaffinch, The, 85. 
Chaffinch, The, described, 86, 
87. 

names of, 87, %^. 

nest of, 90. 

song of, 88, 89. 

story of, 91, 92. 
Ciconia alba, 261. 

argala, 255. 
Cockatoo, Leadbeater's, 387. 
Cockatoo, how hunted in Aus- 
tralia, 389. 

nests and eggs, 390. 

story of, 391. 

talking of, 387, 388. 

the red-breasted, 386. 

the white, 385. 
Cormorant^ The Fishing, 301. 
Cormorant, The, bad reputa- 
tion of, 298, 299. 

fable of, 302. 

story of, 303, 304. 

trained to fish, 300. 
Conms cor ax, 61. 

frugilegus, 73. 
Crane, The, 241. 
Crane, The, 240. 

courage of, 243. 

habits of, 245. 

manner of flying, 242. 

story of, 246, 247. 
Cygnus, 319. 



Ducks, 331. 

canvas-back, 332, 333. 
how reared in China, 

335- 

nests of, 332. 

stories about, 338-340. 

teal, 338. 
Eider-duck, 336. 
Emeu, The, 227. 

story of, 228. 
Falco, 234. 
Falcon, The, 234. 
Feathered horses, 198. 
Finch family, The, 84. 
Fishing for a living, 290. 
Flamingo, The, 3 II. 
P'lamingo, The, a remarkable 
bird, 309, 310. 

nests, 315, 316. 

peculiarities of, 313, 314. 

tongues of, for food, 315. 
Flax- plant, The, 109. 
Frigate-pelican, The, 307. 
Fringilla canaria, 95. 

cannabina, 107. 

ccelebs, 85. 
Fringillidse, The, 84. 
Gannet or Solan Goose, 305. 
Gannet, The, described, 304- 

306. 
Goldfinch, British, 1 1 7. 

habits of, 1 18. 

nests of, 122, 125. 

singing of, 1 19. 

stories of, 120- 1.26. 
Goose, Tame, 318-326. 



INDEX. 



413 



Goose, Tame, stories of, 321- 

325. 

the value of the, 320. 
Goose ± Wild, 321. 
Gulls, 353. 
Gulls, eggs of, 356. 

great gluttons, 352. 

peculiarities, 353, 354. 

stories of, 355-361. 
Harson, Miss — who ? 9. 
Heron, The White, 231. 
Heron, The, 230. 

habits of, 232, 233, 236. 

nest of, 238. 

stories of, 234, 235, 237. 
Home pets, 93. 
Hospital for sick cranes and 

storks, 263. 
Ibis religiosa, 273. 
Ibis, The Sacred, 273. 
Ibis, The, described, 271. 

embalmed when dead, 275. 

why worshiped, 272-274. 
yabiru, The, 249. 
Jabiru, The, 248. 

stories of, 251, 252. 
Jackdaw, The, 50. 

a thief, 52. 

habits of, 50, 51. 

nest of, 53, 54. 

stories of, 54-57. 

the name, 52. 

value of, 56. 
Jay, The blue, 82. 
Kyle, Mr. — who ? 9. 
Larida, 353. 



Lark, lines by Wordsworth, 34. 

preaching, 30. 
Linnet, The, 107. 
Linnet, The, 106. 

habits of, 1 07, III. 

nests of, in, 112. 

song of, 109, no. 

stories of, n 2-1 16. 
Linum usitatissimum, 1 09. 
Macaws, The, 368. 
Magpie, The, 35. 
Magpie, The English, 37. 
Magpies, habits of, 46-48. 

nest of, 41. 

stories of, 42, 43, 49. 

superstition about, 40. 
Meadow- Lark, American, 29. 
Mooruk, The, 218. 
Mother Carey's chickens, 348. 
Mummy -cases, 275. 
Naturalists, Two great, 395. 
Nightingale, The, 149. 
Nightingale,The,described, 147. 

habits of, 152, 153, 155- 
158. 

nest of, 154. 

singing of, 148, 152. 
Night- Jar, The, or Goatsucker, 

161. 
Night-Jar, The, habits and 
traits, 159-165. 

story of, 165, 166. 
Ostrich, The, 199. 
Ostrich, The, care for young, 21 1. 

described, 198, 199. 
• feathers, 200. 



4*4 



INDEX. 



Ostrich, The, food, 200-202. 

how hunted, 203-206, 208. 

nest of, 209, 210. 

stories of, 21 1-2 1 4. 

strength of, 208, 

voice of, 211. 
Parrakeets, Australian, 369. 
Parrot and Young, 371. 
Parrots, 367. 

learning to talk, 372, 373. 

natural notes of, 372. 

nests of, 370. 

stories of, 373, 384. 
Partridge, The, 193. 
Partridge, The, 188. 

habits and traits, 191, 192. 

stories of, 189, 190. 
' Pavo cristatus, 179. 
Peacock, The, 1 79. 
Peacock, The, described, 179, 
180. 

native home of, 178. 

use of feathers, 181. 
Pelican and Hawk, 295. 
Pelican, The, 290. 
Pelican, The, described, 290, 
291. 

habits of, 292-295. 

stories of, 296-298. 
Penguin, The, 362. 

king, 363. 

nest-building of, 364. 
Penguins, 363. 
Petrel, The, 346. 

origin of name, 348. 

peculiarities of, 349, 350. 



Phalacrocorax sinensis, 30 1. 
Pheasant, The Common, 169. 
Pheasant, The, 169. 

plumage of, 170, 171. 

varieties of, 174. 
Philomela luscinia, 1 49. 
Phcenicopterus, 31 1. 
Pica caudata, 37. 
Pyrrhula vulgaris, 1 29. 
" Quack ! Quack !" 331. 
Quail, The American, 195. 
Quail, The, flesh of, 194. 

flocks of, 195, 196. 

nests of, 196, 197. 
Queen of song, 147. 
Queer character, A, 136. 
Querquedula discors, 333. 
Robin, The English, 1 1. 
Robin, The English, 14-18. 
Raven, The, 61. 
Raven, The, and the dog, 68-70. 

evil omen, 59. 

stories of, 62-65. 

tricks of, 66-68. 

where found, 60. 
Redpole, anecdote of, 121. 
Rhamphastos ariel, 238. 
Rhea, The, 225, 226. 
Rook, The, 71. 
Rook, The English, 71. 

a prophet, 72, 73. 

habits of, 71, 72, 77, 81. 

quarrelsome, 74-76. 
Rook-pie, 78. 

Rooks and jackdaws, 79, 80. 
Scolopax, 277. 



INDEX. 



415 



Scraper family, The, 169. 

Screecher, A, 385. 

Sea-birds, 341. 

Sea-vultures, 352. 

Singing of the lark, 25. 

Skylark, The, 19. 

Skylark trap, 24. 

Skylark's nest, 26. 

Snipe, The, 277. 

Snipe, The, habits and traits, 

276-278. 
Solemn birds, 71. 
Song, Queen of, 147. 
Starling, The, 29. 
Starling, The, 137. 
Starling, The, described, 136. 

habits of, 137, 143. 

nest of, 138, 139, 144-146. 

talking of, 1 40- 1 42. 
Stork, The, 261. 
Stork, The, described, 258-260. 

affection for young, 262. 

hospital for, 263. 

nests of, 265. 

stories of, 266-269. 

superstitions about, 265. 

traits and habits, 260. 
Storks on Nest, 259. 
Storm-signals, 341. 
Strut hio camelus, 199. 
Sturnus vulgaris, 137. 



Sula bassana, 305. 

Szvan, The, 319. 

Swans, all geese, 317, 318. 

described, 326. 

disposition, 328. 

fancy of death-song, 330. 

nest of, 327. 
Talks after school-hours, 10. 
Taylor, Jeremy, on the lark, 

20-23. 
Teal, American blue-winged, 

338- 
Teal, Blue- Winged, 233 . 
Teal, The Green- Winged^ 339. 
Toucan, The, 283. 
Toucan, The, described, 282, 
283. 

habits of, 284-287. 

story of, 287-289. 
Trip to Europe, 12. 
Tropic-bird, The, 306. 
Turkey, The, 183. 
Turkey, The wild, 183. 

Australian, 187. 

habits of, 184, 185. 

story of, 186. 

the horned, 187. 
Warblers, Merry, 84. 
Wings of snow, 352. 
Woodcock, The, 279. 
Woodcock, The, 278. 



THE END. 



